Administrative Assistant's Update

NOVEMBER 2016 4 Continued on page 5 gram was developed with input from industry advisors, says Richard Louttet, director of Continu- ing Professional Education for the school, which opened last year. Employers report that job can- didates have tech- nical knowledge but sometimes lack the skills to "go beyond [the basics]," he says. "Commonly, it is the critical thinking and project management and the ability to communicate and get results out of others that you need to move initiatives forward," he says. The certificate includes segments on how to manage projects, increase productivity, analyze accounting and financial reports and think strategically. Citing comments from members of the school's industry advisory panel, Louttet says "employers are looking for the 'easy' button," with a pre - mium put on hiring those who can anticipate potential outcomes, move an agenda forward and add value. Highly skilled admins can help the boss hit the "easy" button, he says. "Admins have a very diverse set of responsibilities and work with a large number of people across an organi- zation. It means they need to proac- tively develop the touch points with strong communication skills and be able to move initiatives forward." Turning out graduates able to look beyond the immediate demands of their job is one objective of Cones- toga's forthcoming certificate. "The more a manager can rely on his or her admin, the more time is freed up to do critical thinking at the strategic level," says Ranson. As a manager herself, she says, "the more I have to get down into the trenches managing the detail, the less time I have to think." Employer demand for highly skilled admins is evident in recent job postings. Ranson cites an advertise - ment earlier this year from a national insurance company seeking an ad- ministrative assistant with superior organizational skills, an ability to multi-task and the discretion to set priorities with minimal direction. As for the sombre predictions of Ryerson's Mr. Robot study, Ranson concedes some jobs will be auto- mated. But she argues that technol- ogy is no substitute for an admin who can build relationships across an organization, think strategically and communicate effectively. "We think managers recognize that." Ranson says new education offer- ings such as those at Conestoga cater to the skilled admins who will be in even more demand in future. "They need a credential that says this is my profession and it is at this level of expertise," she says. "That is what I want to validate." New admin programs raise learning bar Continued from page 1 Richard Louttet Fast facts York University School of Continuing Education Post-Graduate Certificate in Business Administration: • offered full time in the classroom and online, effective fall 2016, with a hybrid version (in-class and online) due in January 2017 • one-quarter of those registered for the online version are admin professionals Conestoga College Administrative Management Graduate Certificate: • expected to be offered Sept 2017 • target market is university liberal arts graduates and two-year col - lege general business graduates Professional learning: selected examples By Staff Editor's note: As an occasional feature, AAU will describe selected college and university level programs for admins to acquire credentials. Please contact info@adminupdate.ca to share new and improved college and university course offerings for admin professionals. Certificate in Project Management, University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies: Courses in this program are recog - nized by the Association of Adminis- trative Professionals. "AAs seem like they are naturals at project management," says Lee McTa- vish, program director of business pro- grams and partnerships with U of T's School of Continuing Studies. "They are good at getting things done, man- aging deadlines and they are good at deliverables." She says large and small organizations often look to admins to manage significant events. "To make sure they [admins] are on top of their game, one of the best things they can do is take a continuing studies course, so they professionalize their talents and professionalize their approach to project management," she says. Office Administration diploma, Assiniboine Community College:

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