A new association has held its first meeting to help establish standards for
freelances working in the new media industry.
The Association of New Media Freelancers (ANMF) is a business organisation for freelances and businesses with less than five employees.
It is determined to dispel the common perception of freelances as "cowboys" by helping them to professionalise.
The meeting was attended by representatives from a mix of small and large businesses, academia, training companies and both statutory and overnmental organisations.
Chairman Mike Halsey said: "New media can no longer be seen as a frontier industry.
We are emerging as a major prof-essional workforce and the ANMF has an important role to play in building links between freelances, industry, academia and government."
There have been complaints over the last ten years about the reluctance of companies to train technical staff. Companies looking for skills for specific projects have hired freelance staff.
The large and growing percentage of part-time and freelance jobs in the new media industry reflects its state of flux.
Vice-chairman Jonathan Hirsh said "We're here to bring industry and academia together to establish where the skills gaps exist and help assess how training can be modified to make it both relevant to industry and broad enough to meet freelances' needs."
Freelances needed to develop practical skills, which include technical training, professional skills, including how to run a business and manage client relationships, and conceptual skills, which focus on issues such as what makes a good web designer.
Mr Hirsh said: "In the past, the barriers to entry have been so low you've had people entering the industry with little or no conceptual understanding and this impacts on their value to businesses."
The ANMF's services, to be fully launched on May 1, will include a web site featuring a freelance database, downloadable business document templates and industry-related articles.
The site's membership application form will provide important demographic and skills research data about the skills freelances have, use in practice and need.
The ANMF has established links with the two Brighton-based universities and several smaller training companies to provide business information many freelances do not easily have access to, such as advice on IR35 taxation and best practice policies.
It is also working closely with the Learning and Skills Council and Skillset to improve professional development opportunities.
Mr Hirsh said the ANMF would be a focal point for freelances, who often work alone and have been isolated from broader discussions about the industry.
He said: "We are all about making the industry more visible - to itself as well as the outside world."
Clive Bonny, owner of Strategic Management Partners and an ANMF member, said: "There is a huge store of untapped energy and talent among the freelance community.
"Most of them are working with between ten and 20 organisations.
"It's all about recognising opportunities beyond the individual."
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