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Admin assistant

Admin assistants give support to businesses by organising meetings, typing documents and updating computer records.

Annual Salary

£14,000 to £28,000

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

38 to 40 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm;

2.3%
Future employment

There will be 2.3% fewer Admin assistant jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In this role you could:

  • deal with questions 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.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
College

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job.

Relevant subjects include:

  • Level 2 International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) Certificate in IT User Skills, previously called European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
  • Level 2 or 3 Business and Administration
  • T Level in Management and Administration

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 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
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T level
For more information
Apprenticeship

You could get into this job through a business administrator advanced apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

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

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

Volunteering and work experience

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

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

Direct application

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

More 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.

You can develop your IT and administration skills by doing a free online course through The Skills Toolkit.

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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, become a personal assistant or executive officer.

You can work as an Audiology Administrator with employers such as Specsavers

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

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
  • knowledge of English language
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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