Mastering Essential Skills for Personal Assistants and Secretaries

2^nd 3^rd April, 2025                                                  11^th-12^th June, 2025

4^th-5^th September, 2025                                        12^th-13^th November, 2025

Introduction

A “personal assistant” and a “secretary” are often used interchangeably, but technically, a personal assistant generally has a broader scope of responsibilities, potentially including personal tasks alongside administrative duties, while a secretary typically focuses on more routine office administrative tasks like managing correspondence and scheduling appointments. 

The common tasks for both roles are: Managing calendars and scheduling appointments, Answering phone calls and emails, Preparing documents and presentations, Handling travel arrangements, and Taking meeting minutes. This workshop will walk the participants through the nitty gritty of essential skills for Personal Assistants and Secretaries.

Course Contents

What does it mean to be a PA?

• Knowing myself
• Understanding people –diversity in the workplace
• Being a professional Personal Assistant

Communication 

• The purpose and methods for communicating with clients
• Listening skills
• The phone call- greeting, body, conclusion

Business writing skills 

• Planning your writing- mind mapping
• Common errors to avoid

Professional Documents 

• Intelligent Emails
• Letters

Meeting management 

• Setting an effective Agenda
• Taking and editing concise minutes of meetings
• Circulating minutes
• Ensuring decisions are implemented

Managing a diary 

• Understanding a diary
• Confidentiality
• Professionalism and ethics

Understanding filing 

• Filing rules
• Filing alphabetically, date, name
• Labelling files
• Electronic filing
• Using MS Outlook effectively for filing documents
• Using MS Outlook for managing your diary
• Data Management

Being organized 

• Routines, procedures, checklists
• Simple systems and routines
• Planning your day

 Event planning 

• Responsibility chart
• Be professional in organizing travel and accommodation
• Booking caterers and venues
• Project managing the event
• The events budget

Duration: Two (2) days                         Fee: N180,000

For Whom:

Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants, Front Desk Officers, Secretaries, Team Leaders and others who perform related duties in the workplace.