The Datum Report

Occupation 4214 · Administrative and secretarial occupations

Company secretaries and administrators

Company secretaries (excluding professional/chartered company secretaries) file and maintain company records, translate notes and dictation into typewritten form and perform other clerical tasks within commercial organisations.

How people enter it

There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants to professional secretarial courses typically require GCSEs/S grades. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2, 3 and 4.

What the work involves

• opens, sorts, distributes and files correspondence (both hard copy and electronic)
• uses appropriate software to produce correspondence, memoranda, reports, presentations and other documents from drafts, handwritten copy or by transcribing dictation
• deals directly with routine correspondence
• files and retrieves documents, sets up and maintains filing systems and reproduces copies of documentation as required
• keeps appointments diary, makes travel arrangements and arranges conference and other functions
• arranges meetings, circulates agenda and other meeting documents, attends meetings, and takes and prepares minutes
• answers, screens, handles and directs telephone requests and enquiries, takes messages and forwards to the appropriate member of staff
• undertakes reception responsibilities by greeting visitors and arranging refreshments
• ensures office supplies such as stationery and equipment are maintained

Also called

Assistant secretary · Club secretary · Company administrator · Company secretary

What it pays

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Common questions

Classified alongside this

Legal secretaries · Medical secretaries · Personal assistants and other secretaries · Receptionists · School secretaries · Typists and related keyboard occupations