ASSISTANT: PA Teresa Taylor, at the Learning and Skills Council, says you need to be well organised to be a secretary.

PA/secretary

Answers supplied by Teresa Taylor, PA to the director of strategy and development at the Learning and Skills Council Norfolk, one of 47 local LSCs in England funding all post-16
education and training (except higher education)

What does the job entail?
You will provide secretarial support to one or more senior members of staff and will be the first point of contact for them. This involves dealing with telephone calls, co-ordinating and booking meetings, making sure all relevant papers for meetings are at hand and possibly taking minutes of meetings and issuing copies to those present. You will also type correspondence which needs to be thoroughly checked before sending and sometimes signing on their behalf. If the people you work for attend events across the country or abroad you will be required to book accommodation and arrange travel. Filing is also part of the role as you have to ensure that the office system is efficient and everyone can access files. Sometimes you will get involved in purchasing, budgets and other financial tasks.

What skills and qualifications are needed?
You need at least grade Cs in GCSE maths and English and also a secretarial diploma and shorthand qualification. A good understanding of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Access) and knowledge of working with numerical data and spreadsheets is an advantage. Minute-taking and audio skills are required together with a high standard of both written and oral communication.

What type of person will fit in?
Someone who is very organised and practices good time management. You need to work well as part of a team, be able to communicate with people of all levels and be tactful and trustworthy as some of the work will be confidential. You also need to be well presented and a sense of
humour helps.

What are the pluses and minuses of the job?
The job offers some interesting tasks and the opportunity to meet people. The salary is reasonable, there is relatively good job security and the hours are quite fixed - ie Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5pm. The difficult part of the role is that the work you have is governed by what is passed to you and if something is required urgently you have to prioritise other duties to meet the need.

What opportunities exist for career progression?
This varies depending on the organisation, but the main progression would probably be to work as PA to the chief executive of an organisation. However, once some experience is gained there are specialisms which can be looked at, such as legal and medical secretarial diplomas, which would help progression.

What can I expect to earn?
Salaries can vary quite substantially depending on qualifications and experience. In Norwich, a secretary/PA can earn anything from £9.5k to around £25k. PAs who work for larger organisations in London tend to earn more, although pay varies throughout the county.

Any hints on getting a job in this area?
One of the best ways to get into this role is by temping. This is a good way of gaining experience and confidence on different systems
and sometimes leads to a full-time job. The temping agencies in the city also advertise permanent secretarial positions throughout Norfolk.