Continuing professional development can be just the boost your career needs, but what are the essential trends within training that PAs need to be aware of? PA Life Editor Colette Doyle quizzes the education experts
“The 21st-century office has witnessed a dramatic transformation in working practices brought about by changes in technology and developments in management techniques. As a result, the role of the executive assistant has changed beyond recognition, with the EA becoming a vital lynchpin in organisational life.
“This, in turn, has led to a demand in both the public and private sectors, for highly skilled management assistants who understand current management theories and, more importantly, how these can be applied to support, co-ordinate and manage individual managers or groups of managers.
“The Certificate of Higher Education in Management for PAs is a strategic partnership between Birkbeck and the Global PA Network, which works closely with organisations to promote change in the workplace and enhance the skills of EAs and PAs.
“The aim of the CertHE is to help meet the demand for highly skilled executive and personal assistants by developing assistants who possess the range of skills needed to manage, build and promote effective working practices and relationships within organisations.
“The CertHE comprises a number of modules including: the role of the executive personal assistant; seven key skills for peak performance; understanding organisations; strategy and business planning; leadership and team building; managing change; marketing; financial decisions, and people management and diversity.
“All modules involve some element of teamwork, which provides students with the opportunity to network and share their experiences. Assessment is 100 per cent coursework-based and requires students to reflect on the relevance to their organisations of the topics being covered and consider how these could be used to improve their own effectiveness and performance, as well as that of their companies.
“The CertHE programme is a vital stepping stone for aspiring EAs who wish to develop their careers and move into management positions, or further their qualifications by studying for a degree (such as Birkbeck’s BA in Management or BSc in Business for example).”
Ian Harrison, Programme Director for the Certificate of Higher Education at Birkbeck University. For more information on the course, visit the website at bbk.ac.uk/ce/management
“In the 20 years that we’ve been providing PA training, the essential personal skills needed by PAs have remained very similar. New PAs still need to learn how to communicate and negotiate with different people, how to assert themselves and how to manage their time, plan their career and build their own personal ‘brand’.
“However, time has become even more precious. Today’s PAs want shorter programmes with hourly slots, so they can keep in regular contact with the office. Increasingly, they’re working for more bosses and this brings its own challenges. We’ve responded to these trends by creating one-day conferences that cover specific topics such as managing your boss, prioritising your work and learning how to say no.
“The PA role is also expanding and many people are looking to develop a broader set of skills, including project management, budgeting, marketing and facilities management. In our experience, PAs are still attending open programmes, but they’re becoming much more selective. They’ll only leave the office for courses that will genuinely meet their needs.
“One trend we’ve seen is the growth of in-company programmes for PAs. Increasingly, we’re including psychometric assessments on these courses, to help PAs become more aware of their own personal style, to better understand their boss’s way of doing things and to learn how they can work together more effectively.
“Another big recent development we’ve seen has been the changing training environment. PAs are demanding a more exciting experience. That’s why we’ve invested significantly in making our training rooms better equipped, more conducive and more engaging.
“Finally, the relentless march of technology is continuing. We’re increasingly using interactive displays in our delivery and providing iPads to create paperless courses. However, there will always be a place for face-to-face interaction in learning. PAs like to network and talk about their own situations and they benefit considerably from sharing their own experiences and discussing best practice.”
Jean Sutcliffe, L&D Consultant, Hemsley Fraser; visit hemsleyfraser.co.uk for further information
“As new technology continues to embed itself into almost all Aspects of modern life, its importance to the role and function of the PA is becoming ever more critical. The meetings and conferences of yesteryear are increasingly becoming videoconferences, webinars and other technological innovations and it is often up to the PA to understand and co-ordinate this activity.
“For career-focused PAs, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to ensure they remain sufficiently tech-savvy to carry out their professional duties to the requisite level; the opportunity is that PAs can really embrace the new technology available, discovering the apps and tools they need to positively transform their working environment.
“The starting point for all of this is training. With new technology developing so rapidly there is a need for larger, regulated qualifications to cover more digital and technological content. Alongside these regulated qualifications that you can enrol on, there are a huge number of shorter CPD courses that can help get you up to speed or serve as a skills refresher and these also help to make a CV look more impressive.
“Much of this training can take place outside of formal study programmes. Keeping up to date with what others in the sector are doing will allow you to stay on top of new ideas and developments, whether that’s through sharing and engaging in online discussions and forums, or reading specific industry publications. Membership of a professional body is also a great way to enhance your credentials and network with like-minded PAs.”
Thomas Roberts, Marketing Executive, Industry Qualifications and the Institute of Administrative Management; see both industryqualifications.org.uk and instam.org for more details
“For professional PAs the future is looking bright. Business leaders are no longer just working behind closed doors – they are expected to keep up with technology and communicate with their customers like never before. A PA can help the business leader with these new challenges of staying abreast of technology, communicating through new media such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and maintaining a professional image at all times. Management assistants need to see themselves as enablers who can help ease these challenges, thereby allowing leaders to focus on the main priorities of their business.
“A PA nowadays, therefore, has to be competent in being able to sort out their boss’s mobile and laptop technology to ensure they can work without disruption; they need to be able to manipulate critical decision-making data in Excel, creating reports and graphs; and they need to be relied upon to say the right things about the company to the right people at the right time.
“For the foreseeable future, core skill requirements will still be in demand, so a PA will still be expected to touch type, use Microsoft Office up to an expert level, take minutes and be able to organise events. However, PAs need to layer on new skills and understanding. Social media is the current big topic and one that many are adding to their repertoire via training.
“We’re also finding that having a better idea about business generally really pays off and one of our most popular courses for PAs looks at this. It covers how different types of companies are structured, understanding a profit and loss account and balance sheet and knowing about corporate filing deadlines.
“Finally, PAs must understand more about the business their boss is involved in and the industry factors that may affect it, so that they can help with communicating the right messages. I believe this demonstrates that PAs are on a more equal footing with their bosses and will be able to deliver greater value than ever before.”
Shilpa Wymer, Managing Director, Pitman Training Centres, Holborn, Notting Hill, Croydon and Manchester; visit holborntraining.co.uk to find out more about the variety of courses that Pitman offers
“We are seeing a move away from the traditional role of the PA, where the emphasis was on the ‘personal’ side of things, including picking up dry-cleaning, making travel arrangements and even buying birthday and Christmas presents for their manager’s family members. Increasingly often nowadays, we find that firms are recruiting instead for an executive assistant. These management assistants are less likely to need the shorthand and audiotyping skills so often required of PAs in previous decades and, while there can still be some element of diary-management and organising involved, the main focus for executive assistants is on duties that directly aid the profitability and success of the business.
“Many executive assistants will be seen as the right-hand man, or woman, of the manager they report to and therefore they are integral to the business. They tend to be tasked with important project-based assignments, such as creating complex reports on HR or finance reporting, for instance, that will help inform the decisions that their manager makes for the wider business.
“As such, it’s vital that the EA is proficient to a high level in software such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint to ensure these reports are accurate. It’s also key that their written and verbal communication and presentation skills are high, as the manager will trust the EA to present the information in a clear and concise way.
“To fit in with this evolving job description, PAs wishing to make the move across to an executive assistant role may find it useful to up-skill their IT capabilities or undertake some more general business/finance awareness training. This will ensure they don’t feel they are on the back foot when approaching a change of responsibilities.”
Catherine Maskell, Head of Marketing at recruitment agency Reed; discover more at reed.co.uk
PA Life Training Day
The next training day takes place on 15 June at the ILEC Conference Centre at the London Ibis Earls Court. For further details and to book your place, email trainingcourses@palife.co.uk, or call 01992 374100
