Admin Assistant

Typical Salary

£14,000 To £30,000

Typical Hours

38 to 40 a week

between 8am and 6pm

How To Become a Admin Assistant

You can get into this job through:

a college course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role
applying directly

College / University

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job. Relevant subjects include a Level 2 or 3 Diploma in Business and Administration.

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, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You could get into this job through an intermediate apprenticeship in business administration, or a business administrator advanced apprenticeship.

some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

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

Routes into this Career

You might be able to start on a temporary contract through a recruitment agency. Sometimes this can lead to a permanent job. Qualifications in business administration may also help.

You could apply directly to become an admin assistant.

Employers may expect you to have:

GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent qualifications, including English and maths
telephone, typing or IT skills

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

administration skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
the ability to work well with others
the ability to work on your own
sensitivity and understanding
to be flexible and open to change
excellent verbal communication skills
customer service skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

In this role you could:

deal with queries on the phone, by email and on social media
greet visitors at reception
type letters, reports and other business documents
update computer records
print and photocopy items
order office supplies
set up meetings and take notes during them
make travel arrangements for staff

Working Environment

You could work in an office.

Career Path & Progression

With experience, you could progress from admin assistant to supervisor or office manager. You could also move into other departments, like IT, payroll or accounting.

With further training, you could specialise in an area like legal, financial or medical administration.

Volunteering Opportunities

You could volunteer with a charity in an office based role to get some experience and skills that are useful for administration work.

Tips & Information

Career tips

Time management and the ability to prioritise tasks is really important in administration. This could be tested at interview. For example, you might be given some tasks to complete and asked to arrange them in order of importance.

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.