Personal assistant

Entry Requirements:

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• working your way into the role
• specialist courses run by private training organisations

University

You could do a business-related foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree.

Entry requirements:

• 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take a college qualification to help you get a job as a junior personal assistant. Courses include:

• Level 2 Diploma in Business Support
• Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration
• T Level in Management and Administration

Entry requirements:

• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You could do an advanced level apprenticeship in business administration and work your way up to a personal assistant position.

Entry requirements:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work

You could find a temporary job to get administration experience. You could then apply for permanent roles.

If you're already working as an administrator or secretary, you could become a personal assistant through company training and promotion.

To get work, you'll usually need GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths, A levels, or equivalent qualifications.

Volunteering

While you are studying towards qualifications, it's helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience to develop your administration and organisational skills. This could be through agency work, or volunteering in the office of a local charity.

You can find volunteering opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Do IT .

OtherRoutes

You could do training courses with a private training provider or through a professional body like the Institute of Administrative Management .

Required Skills:

Digital skills : to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Skills:

• administration skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to work well with others
• to be flexible and open to change
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• knowledge of English language
• business management skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• active listening skills
• sensitivity and understanding
• the ability to read English
• excellent written communication skills
• a desire to help people
• customer service skills
• knowledge of computer operating systems, hardware and software
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• thinking and reasoning skills
• concentration skills
• maths skills
• a good memory

What you'll do:

Personal assistants carry out support tasks for individuals and managers including administration, diary management and event planning.

In this role you could:

• screen telephone calls and handle enquiries
• organise your manager's diary and make appointments
• deal with letters and emails
• arrange meetings
• organise and maintain office systems
• take notes at meetings, produce reports and presentations
• make travel arrangements
• look after visitors
• supervise other admin staff

Location : You could work in an office.
Uniform : You may need to wear smart business clothes.

Salary:

Starter : £18,000
Experienced : £35,000

These figures are a guide

Working hours:

37 - 40 hours a week

Working Pattern is evenings occasionally

Career Path:

With experience, you could move to a larger organisation or work for a more senior manager.

You could also move into an executive assistant (EA) role with more responsibility.

You could supervise and train junior admin professionals.

If you have specific industry knowledge like legal, medical or financial, you could take on specialist PA roles.