Our administration and secretarial skills courses
The courses which we run divide into four main areas, as follows.
Business skills
A large part of a secretary’s job is running things, arranging things and finding things out. In order to do this effectively, a secretary needs to understand how the business world works: what is important and what isn’t; how the different parts of a company work together; and how the other companies that he or she may deal with are run. We look at issues like that in Course 54.
And a secretary also needs to know the best ways of doing all the things that are expected of them: running an office, a filing system, arranging meetings and travel and so on, too. We look at this in Course 52.
The final part of a secretary’s key skills is communication. If you don’t know how to express yourself, you won’t be able to get the information that you need, or let people know want you want. Complete, well-expressed, precise and speedy communication is an essential part of business, and we look at this in Course 50.
Business Administration (Course 52)
The whole range of skills and duties required of a secretary or administrator is thoroughly described and explained in this clear and comprehensive course.
It takes you through such aspects of the job as understanding office organisation; dealing with reports, correspondence and other information; handling problem situations; organising meetings and taking minutes; internal and external communications; knowing how to deal with finances and financial information; and choosing and using equipment and technology.
The course is completed with a section on career-building outlining the standards of professionalism you should follow and suggesting possible paths into future jobs.
This is a third level, advanced standard course.
Business Practice (Course 54)
This course helps you understand how the business and commercial world works, looking at aspects such as inflation and economic growth, company organisation, public sector operations, financial services, export marketing, and personnel.
When you have completed the course, you will have a sound grasp of business structure in general, and will be able to apply your knowledge in practice.
This is a third level, advanced standard course.
English for Business (Course 50)
This course deals with English language and communication in a business environment.
The topics it covers include making and answering enquiries, confirming information, writing business letters and memos, reports, telecommunications and email, summaries, and comprehension to give you a clear and detailed overview of the processes of communication in business organisations.
This is a second level, intermediate standard course. This is about the same standard as higher-grade GCSE, Oxford (UODLE) Preliminary with Distinction, Pitman Intermediate, Council of Europe Threshold, UK National Standards NQF Level 2, or University of London grade 3, and represents the minimum standard you should aim for.
Students whose first language is not English should contact the College for advice.
Shorthand
Shorthand is a skill that secretaries are still expected to have, even if they’re never actually asked to use it. It isn’t limited to secretaries, either. For anyone who has to make notes or transcripts, shorthand is an essential skill. It is used in a variety of jobs in a number of areas, including legal and medical work, and journalism.
Shorthand is not difficult to learn if you have a basic knowledge of English. If you can study a little every day, you will soon develop the skill to record speech at low speeds and, with further practice, you will achieve the speed you want; 80 words per minute (wpm) is often sufficient for employment purposes.
All the textbooks and cassettes you need for your shorthand course are provided with your materials.
Using Teeline (Course 40)
This course teaches Teeline Gold, a shorthand system based on reducing the letters of the alphabet to their simplest possible forms. It’s simple and flexible, with few rules, and you are encouraged to adapt the shorthand "forms" to take advantage of your own handwriting and shortcuts.
Speeds: It is easy to get started in Teeline, and most students will be able to get to speeds of up to 80 words per minute (the object of the course) without too much difficulty. More able and dedicated students will be able to reach speeds well in excess of 120 wpm.
Pitman 2000 (Course 143)
Pitman 2000 is the most recent development of the original Pitman shorthand system. It is a structured and logical system that minimises writing – and so boosts speed – by using short and efficient symbols to represent the sounds that you hear, not the letters of the alphabet that you see. This is a system based on listening.
Speeds: This system has a huge speed potential for the dedicated student. It can take longer to get started than with other systems, but once the basic symbols are mastered, progress is quick to speeds of 40 to 60 words per minute. Ultimately, it can lead to speeds up to and around 200 wpm.
Keyboarding
Keyboarding forms the basis for general computer work, word processing, and typewriting. With our courses we assume that you are comfortable typing at 25 words per minute and are looking to improve your speed and layout skills, or to become familiar with audio transcription.
Text Production (Course 51)
This course is for the keyboarder who wishes to improve their speed (up to a speed of 50 or 60 words per minute), and to learn those finer details of theory and practice that distinguish the expert from the ordinary operator, in effect, how to produce difficult technical, specialist and displayed matter.
You must already, as mentioned above, have a good knowledge of text production and have access to computer with word processing software or a typewriter with full tabular functions to complete this course.
This is a third level, advanced standard course.
Audio Transcription (Course 53)
For this course you should already have a thorough grounding in keyboarding technique and have reached a speed of at least 25 words a minute.
The course teaches you how to convert the skill of copying from the written word to that of transcribing from the spoken word. In addition to dictation passages, it also includes exercises designed to help develop aural comprehension. Advice is given on punctuation, and throughout the course particular attention is paid to common mis-spellings and "pairs" of words that are easily confused with each other.
The course comprises five cassettes (graded in speed) providing 20 lessons, each of which is divided into four or more separate exercises. Written notes for each lesson and full transcriptions are also provided.
This is a third level, advanced standard course.
Information Technology
Our IT courses are designed to help you develop a clear understanding of the principles and skills involved in IT. Each course is carefully planned to make it as easy as possible for you to study and learn effectively at home.
IT Basics (Course 5)
Beginners start here! This course is based on the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), and acts as an introduction to all aspects of using computers in the workplace. There are eight sections which cover: basic concepts, using the computer and managing files, word processing, spreadsheets and charts, databases, presentations, information and communication, and desk-top publishing.
To get the most from the course you will need a computer running Windows 98 or 2000 and with an Internet connection.
Computerised book-keeping
We also run courses in computerised book-keeping and payroll – follow this link to find out more.
