Personal Assistant Course

Are you a Personal Assistant? Looking to become one? Then this course has what you need!

It covers everything from effective communication to executive office skills and even includes our ECDL course so you know you will have the level of computer skill needed.  This course is a comprehensive introduction into the world of the Personal Assistant and will give you all the tools you need to be successful.

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 12 months. All our tutors are highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Home Study Entry Requirements 

At Start Learning we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.      

Recommended hours of study

We recommended you spend approximately 120 hours of your time studying for the Personal Assistant course. The pace of study is completely up to you. To give an example, if you dedicate 2 hours a week to the course it would take you a year to complete but if you could spare 4 hours a week you could complete it in six months.

Course Contents

Personal Assistant Diploma consists of the following:

NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Effective Business Communicating

Module 1 - The Essentials of Communication: The Importance of Good Communication - Modes of Communication - The Key Elements of Communication - The Whole Message - What Does the Recipient Expect?                                          

Module 2 - Sending Informal Messages: Memoranda ('Memos') - Electronic Mail (Email) - Text Messages - Facsimiles or 'Faxes'                                                

Module 3 - Sending Formal Messages: Letters – The First Impression - Greetings and Sign-Off - The Details - Writing Clearly - Writing Accurately - Formal Emails - Reports and Proposals - Reviewing Formal Letters and Reports

Module 4 - Two-Way Communication: The Telephone - Using the Answer Phone - Using the Mobile Phone - Face-to-Face Meetings                                                     

Module 5 – Presentations: Presentation Skills - First Impressions - Explaining Your Points Clearly Humour - Inviting Discussion - Ending the Presentation

Module 6 – Advertising: Press Releases - Newspaper Advertisements - Direct Mail - Web Sites     

NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Executive Office Skills

Module A – Customer Services: Face to face contact - Dealing with awkward customers - Where are you? - Dealing with complaints - Complaints policy - Do’s and don’ts of complaint handling - Is the customer always right? - Dangerous contact - Person to person contact

Module B – Personnel Administration: The work cycle – Recruiting – Shortlisting - Checklist on interview - Contract of employment - Personnel files - Data protection - Job descriptions - Health and safety - Staff security

Module C – Project Management: Defining a project - Work structures - Choosing your team - Resourcing the information - Who does what - Gantt charts

Module D – Communications:  Body language - Appearances can be deceptive - Emphasis on words - Listening skills - Letter writing - Using the telephone - Getting the message

Module E – Training Administration: The training cycle - Who benefits from training - Planning training - Training methods - Training environment - Equipment - Visual aids - Evaluation

ECDL V5 European Computer Driving Licence

Module 1 - Security for IT Users: Unwanted messages - Malicious programs - Viruses and spyware - Intrusions - Passwords and PINs - Public network - Bluetooth - Vulnerability of portable storage devices  - IT security - Storing data securely

Module 2 - IT User Fundamentals:  Operating system - Operate the computer desktop - Graphical user environment - File management - Organise files and folders - Health and Safety practices - Data protection

Module 3 - Word Processing: Saving files in different formats - Create and edit small-sized word documents - Applying different formats to documents - Recognise good practice in choosing the appropriate formatting options - Insert tables, images and drawn objects into documents

Module 4 - Spreadsheets: Edit rows and columns in a worksheet; Copy, move, delete, and appropriately rename worksheets - Create mathematical and logical formulas using standard spreadsheet functions - Formula creation - Format numbers and text content - Choose, create, and format charts to communicate information - Adjust spreadsheet page settings

Module 5 - Using Databases: What is a database and how it is organised and operated - Create a simple database - Create a table, define and modify fields and their properties, and enter and edit data in a table - Sort and filter a table or form and create, modify, and run queries to retrieve specific information from a database – Identify what a form is and create a form to enter, modify, and delete records and data

Module 6 - Presentation: Work with presentations and save them in different file formats - Choose built-in options such as the Help function - Different presentation views and when to use them - Enter, edit, and format text in presentations - Apply unique titles to slides - Choose, create, and format charts to communicate - Insert and edit pictures, images, and drawn objects

Module 7 - Using Email and the Internet: The Internet – Security - Web browsing - Search for information - Save web pages - Download files - Email - Awareness of network etiquette and security  - Create, spell check and send email - Reply to and forward email - File attachments - Enhance productivity

Qualification

On successful completion of this course you will receive 4 qualifications, which are:
•    NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Effective Business Communicating
•    NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Executive Office Skills
•    European Computer Driving Licence Completion Certificate
•    Start Learning Diploma

Assessment

As you work through this course you are required to complete a series of tutor marked assignments, which you can then send to your tutor for marking. There is no word count for these assignments; however you do have to prove to your tutor that you have fully understood the question asked.

Language of Course

English