One of Manchester’s outstanding tech companies has announced it will be supporting the local sector once more during the third national lockdown – offering free spots on some of its acclaimed training courses.
Sync’s Deansgate site – a three-storey tech shop with an Apple desk, training suite and conference centre – has been the city centre’s vital support hub right throughout the pandemic, remaining on hand to keep Digital Mancunia ticking.
Despite the latest lockdown, these webinars aren’t stopping anytime soon. In fact, some are even continuing without the price tag.
As Blue Monday arrives, Sync is aiming to lift the spirits of local business owners and entrepreneurs with an exclusive offer of limited free course placements.
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15 fully-funded spots are up for grabs on Sync’s 3-day foundation course for Adobe XD – which is ordinarily normally priced at £195+VAT.
The training sessions run for two hours per day, offering priceless insight for designers, product managers, developers, or anyone hoping to build brilliant digital products (such as websites and mobile apps).
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Participants will perform a series of examples and short exercises, learning the methods, techniques and tools required to plan and execute a project using the UX framework successfully.
Tom Crump, Head of Sales at Sync, explained the thinking behind the offer.
“With the latest lockdown, we wanted to offer a form of support to businesses by offering fully funded places,” he told The Manc.
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“Once they’ve completed the course, they receive a certificate of completion from Sync.
“If you are a business or employee interested in this training, all you need to do is explain why you think you might benefit from it to access the course.”
To apply, you can get in touch with the Sync team online.
The courses will be taking place from February 2 – February 4.
In addition to the Adobe XD sessions, Sync is also offering skills-based training courses that focus on how to continue working and communicating through lockdown.
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They’re all free to join – and will be conducted every Thursday from January 14 until February 25.
To get involved, you simply need to register your interest online.
Some of the Sync webinar sessions in 2021 cover Microsoft Teams, Photoshop, Illustrator, Spark and InDesign.
January 14 – Master Microsoft Teams What Sync says about the session: Teams has quickly become a core communication and collaboration tool for many businesses. In this session, we will walk you through Microsoft Teams, covering a range of features, tips and tricks – along with a couple of tools to help you enhance and evolve your Teams workflows.
January 21 – Get started with Photoshop What Sync says about the session: In this introductory session, we will introduce delegates to Adobe Photoshop, and walk you through your first Photoshop project. We will cover the basics, including setting your canvas size, working with layers, and some of the key tools like text.
January 28 – Get started with Illustrator What Sync says about the session: New to Illustrator? Not a problem… during this session, we will demonstrate some of the basics, helping to guide you through your first project. You will get to learn how to set up a new project, and how to use some of the key tools and features built-in to Illustrator.
February 4 – Get started with Spark What Sync says about the session: Adobe Spark comprises of three apps, Spark Page, Spark Post, and Spark Video – all allowing you to create content quickly. In this introductory session, we will explore the capabilities of Spark, and walk you through your first Spark project!
February 11 – Get started with InDesign What Sync says about the session: InDesign is an incredibly powerful and industry-leading desktop publishing software, ideal for anyone looking to create stunning print or digital media in the form of fliers, brochures, magazines, books/ebooks or posters. Join us to explore InDesign further, and learn some of the basics.
February 18 – Top Tips: Photoshop What Sync says about the session: Join us as we explore Photoshop, uncovering amazing features, new tools, and top tips from industry expert and Adobe trainer, Alan Rankin. Whether you’re still new to Photoshop, or a seasoned pro, this short session is for you.
February 25 – Top Tips: Illustrator What Sync says about the session: Industry expert and Adobe trainer, Alan Rankin, explores Adobe Illustrator – sharing his top hints and tips for creatives. Illustrator is an incredibly powerful and versatile tool, and in this short session, we will dig beneath the surface to explore some of the more advanced functions.
Tom stated: “This is a way for us to help support Manchester businesses who may have had to furlough staff.
“Sync is passionate about personal development and working with our local community to come out of this next lockdown stronger than ever.”Learn more about the tech courses and training available throughout the lockdown period by visiting the Syncwebsite.
What's On
Jersey Boys at Palace Theatre, Manchester – Oh, what a night
Amy Williams
20 years, 65 major awards (including Tonys, a Grammy, and an Olivier), and seen by over 27 million people worldwide – it could only be Jersey Boys, and now it’s back at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
This is one of those shows where you realise just how many songs you know and love by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, but may not know the story behind the band themselves. How they started, how big they became, how they fell apart, and how they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
It follows the four boys from Jersey (who each narrate their parts of the story), how it started as just Tommy and Nick and a range of different guys along the way, until they found the one who has a voice like an angel, Frankie Valli, and this started to change the direction of their success.
But they were missing a key part, a good song writer – enter Bob Gaudio, and the creation of The Four Lovers, who then became The Four Seasons.
Mixed with issues of debt, loan sharks, prison time and more, it wasn’t the smoothest of sailing for them, and as they said themselves, they didn’t create a movement like the Beatles. But The Four Seasons were for the factory workers, the dads, the working class people who could relate to them.
One thing we need to talk about, is just how INCREDIBLE the vocal performances are in this tour of Jersey Boys, staring Luke Baker as Frankie Valli, Carlo Boumouglbay as Tommy Devito, Lewis Kennedy as Nick Massi, and Toby Miles as Bob Gaudio.
Jersey Boys is back in Manchester, for a run at the Palace Theatre
A special mention for Luke Baker, because as iconic as Frankie Valli’s voice is, he very perfectly matched it.
The musical features some of their biggest hits including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Beggin’, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Walk Like A Man, and of course, December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) which had everyone up on their feet dancing at the end.
This show is incredible from beginning to end, and would recommend everyone go to see this.
Jersey Boys is running at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 19 September, and you can grab your tickets HERE.
Jane McDonald at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
The lovely people of Manchester are ‘Living The Dream’ because Wakefield wonder-woman Jane McDonald is bringing her tour to AO Arena.
Making her British TV screen debut nearly 30 years ago on The Cruise, before joining the Loose Women panel and going on to present a whole host of travel shows including Cruising with Jane McDonald, now this Wakefield legend returns to AO Arena.
This latest tour, named after her 2026 LP Living The Dream, will see Jane singing hits from both past and present including a couple of covers too.
Earlier this year, Jane’s Mighty Hoopla performance went viral online after she commanded the stage in a red leather jacket, donning a singular rainbow hair extension while belting out RAYE’s ‘Where Is My Husband!’
Audio North even got the opportunity to interview this legendary lady when she visited her hometown HMV store in Wakefield for an exclusive album signing – Oh look, it’s me!
The Wakefield wonder-woman’s latest album Living The Dream was released in March and considering the tour is named after this impressive LP, we’re sure fans can expect to hear quite a few tracks from this album.
Living The Dream
I’ll Not Be Beaten
You Don’t Know What You Got
Don’t Mind If I Do
The Hand That Leads Me
Ain’t Gonna Beg
I Will Always Love You
Islands in the Stream
Jolene
9 to 5
You’re My World
Where Is My Husband!
Let the Light In
Cake by the Ocean
Jai Ho!
APT.
Right Where I Belong
How Do I Move On
Beautiful Soul
All By Myself
You Still Lead Me
Of course, Jane also loves to cover a tune or two, and we’ll never forget her renditions of ‘Cake By The Ocean’, ‘Jai Ho’ or ‘APT.’.
What are the stage times for Jane McDonald in Manchester?
The doors for Jane McDonald’s Living The Dream Tour in Manchester are set for 6.30pm with the event set to start at 7.30pm.
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you have enough time to dash home and eat ‘Cake by the (Sofa)’ before ringing in the new day.
Getting to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
The Manc -
18th January 2021 
