IDEAS - Keeping busy when furloughed

Like many of you out there, a portion of our team at Stopgap have been temporarily "furloughed" - a term I'm sure none of us were aware of until a week or so ago. And how we wish we weren't aware of it now! 

But for those who are furloughed, it is an opportunity to enjoy some time they wouldn't otherwise have had. We've been asking our Stopgappers, clients and candidates what they are going to do with their time and what they can recommend for this strange period of downtime. 

Upskill and Educate

Many people are taking the opportunity to upskill and educate themselves, ready to have broadened their knowledge and skills for when they return to work. There is a range of online courses out there, many of them free. Here are a few we have identified already. 

Open University - Free Courses

BrightTALK have some interesting pre-records and upcoming webinars as well as coffee and content discussions.

Future Learn have a range of useful course and this one on working collaboratively in a remote team is very relevant currently. 

For those wanting to brush up on their HTML coding W3School is a great free resource. 

The LinkedIn Learning Blog is a huge resource of online training and hints and tips for working from home, many of which are free. 

Google Garage is also a great free training resource if you want to brush up on some digital marketing basics or areas which aren't part of your day job. 

Of course, our friends at the CIM have always had a wealth of training, all of which is now available online. 

Upskilling from a work point of view is one thing, but this period is also a chance to do something fun and enrich yourself creatively. Fender are offering 3 months of guitar lessons for free!

Finally, Udemy is an incredible resource of online learning, with courses on everything from Marketing to Pet Care!

Health & Wellbeing 

Keeping your mind and body healthy during this period is the most important thing and there are lots of resources out there. 

We have come across the Science of Wellbeing course run by Yale. 

There are loads of Personal Trainers offering virtual classes on YouTube and Instagram, the most famous of course is perhaps PE with The Body Coach (Joe Wickes). 

Government Furlough Advice

Here are some of the official government advice around the furlough scheme. 

Covid-19 Advice for employees

Covid-19 Advice for businesses

Looking after the kids

Keeping yourself busy during a furlough period can be difficult, but keeping your kids occupied if you have them can be a real challenge. A new website Kid2020 has pooled a whole range of resources both educational, creative and fun for you to do with your children. 

We'd love to hear from you - what are you doing with your time if you are furloughed? Do you know of any resources which we could add to our list? Email marketing@stopgap.co.uk