Professional Secretary Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Secretary, Executive Assistant and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-OA-041

Before you join: Participants should have some experience of office administration, such as managing emails, arranging meetings, maintaining files or supporting a manager or team.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Professional secretaries keep senior leaders, teams and office operations organised when priorities compete, information is sensitive and deadlines cannot slip. The role requires more than diary management: it involves judging urgency, preparing accurate correspondence, coordinating meetings, maintaining records, screening communications and representing the office professionally. Small errors in meeting arrangements, document control or confidential information can cause missed decisions, reputational damage and unnecessary executive time.

This course develops the practical administrative judgement and systems required of a competent professional secretary. Participants learn to manage executive schedules, apply priority-setting methods, prepare agendas and minutes, coordinate events and travel, control paper and electronic records, draft clear business documents, and handle telephone, email and visitor communications. They also examine confidentiality, professional boundaries, stakeholder service and methods for improving recurring office processes.

Teaching combines concise tutor briefings with realistic office scenarios, document review, scheduling tasks, meeting simulations, group problem-solving and individual application planning. Participants work with common secretary documents and leave with a reusable professional secretary toolkit, including templates for meeting administration, diary control, correspondence, records management and action tracking. The course is available as a five-day classroom programme in more than 50 cities or through live online delivery. Each format includes approximately 32.5 contact hours and a certificate of completion.

The programme suits secretaries, executive assistants, personal assistants, administrative officers and office coordinators who already perform administrative duties and need a more disciplined, reliable approach to supporting managers and teams.

What you will be able to do

  • Prioritise competing requests using the Eisenhower Matrix and agreed escalation rules
  • Build executive diary plans that protect preparation time, travel time and decision deadlines
  • Prepare meeting agendas, briefing packs, minutes and action registers to professional standards
  • Draft concise emails, letters and reports using plain-language business writing techniques
  • Apply ISO 15489 records management principles to paper and electronic office files
  • Coordinate travel, events and visitor arrangements using risk, cost and contingency checks
  • Handle confidential information, difficult callers and sensitive requests with appropriate judgement
  • Create an office improvement plan using process mapping, RACI roles and service measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce meeting records that assign clear owners and deadlines
  • Protect executive time through better diary control and request triage
  • Write correspondence that requires fewer corrections and follow-up queries
  • Handle sensitive requests with clearer confidentiality and escalation boundaries
  • Build a practical portfolio of reusable office administration templates

For your organisation

  • Fewer missed commitments through disciplined calendar and action management
  • More productive meetings supported by clear agendas, minutes and follow-up
  • Improved document retrieval through consistent filing and retention practices
  • Reduced executive administrative burden from better screening and preparation
  • More consistent service to staff, visitors, suppliers and senior stakeholders

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define professional responsibilities, service standards and appropriate boundaries for a secretary role.

  • Secretary responsibilities, delegated authority and professional boundaries defined clearly
  • Service-level expectations agreed with managers, teams and frequent stakeholders
  • Professional image through reliability, discretion, punctuality and prepared communication
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies decision-makers, information owners and service users
  • Escalation routes for urgent requests, conflicting instructions and absent managers
  • Office procedures translated into daily routines, checklists and handover notes

Participants can prioritise requests and maintain an executive diary that supports effective decisions.

  • Eisenhower Matrix separates urgent demands from important planned work
  • Diary architecture reserves preparation, travel, recovery and focused-work blocks
  • Screening meeting requests against purpose, attendees, authority and expected decisions
  • Time-zone calculations prevent scheduling errors for international calls and travel
  • Buffer times protect executives from consecutive meetings and realistic delays
  • Daily planning uses task lists, deadlines, dependencies and escalation triggers
  • Rescheduling conversations preserve relationships while protecting agreed priorities

Participants can organise meetings and produce records that drive accountable follow-up.

  • Meeting purpose determines format, attendees, agenda structure and preparation
  • Agenda templates distinguish information items, discussion items and decision items
  • Briefing packs use version control, pagination and distribution deadlines
  • Room, virtual platform and accessibility requirements checked before invitations issue
  • Minute-taking captures decisions, rationale, actions, owners and due dates
  • Action registers track commitments through reminders, updates and closure evidence
  • Post-meeting follow-up circulates approved minutes and unresolved decision points

Participants can draft and quality-check professional correspondence for different business purposes.

  • Plain-language structure places purpose, action, deadline and context first
  • Email subject lines make requests, decisions and required responses visible
  • BLUF writing presents bottom line, evidence and recommended next steps
  • Letters use correct salutations, reference details, tone and sign-off conventions
  • Proofreading checks names, dates, attachments, facts, grammar and formatting
  • Sensitive messages separate verified facts, agreed actions and restricted information
  • Correspondence logs record receipt, ownership, response deadline and completion status

Participants can manage routine and difficult interactions professionally while protecting executive access.

  • Call screening identifies caller purpose, urgency, authority and callback requirements
  • Message-taking records names, organisations, contact details, actions and deadlines
  • Active listening uses paraphrasing, clarifying questions and accurate confirmation
  • Difficult callers handled through calm language, boundaries and escalation procedures
  • Visitor reception verifies appointments, access requirements, hosts and security instructions
  • Professional introductions establish names, roles, purpose and appropriate formality
  • Complaint records distinguish incident facts, promised actions and responsible owners

Participants can organise office information for reliable retrieval, retention and confidentiality.

  • ISO 15489 principles guide authentic, reliable, usable and complete records
  • File plans classify documents by function, activity, subject and retention period
  • Naming conventions apply dates, version numbers, subjects and document status
  • Version control identifies draft owners, approval points and final records
  • Retention schedules distinguish active files, archives, disposal and legal holds
  • Access controls limit confidential documents to authorised staff and managers
  • Search methods retrieve electronic files using metadata, keywords and filters

Participants can identify confidentiality risks and respond appropriately to sensitive administrative situations.

  • Confidentiality categories distinguish public, internal, restricted and highly sensitive information
  • Need-to-know checks prevent unnecessary disclosure during routine administrative work
  • Clean-desk and clear-screen practices reduce physical and electronic information exposure
  • Social engineering warning signs include urgency, impersonation and unusual information requests
  • Ethical dilemmas assessed through facts, policy, consequences and escalation options
  • Conflict-of-interest disclosures protect impartiality in supplier and recruitment administration
  • Secure disposal methods cover shredding, deletion, retention approval and audit trails

Participants can coordinate travel, events and office logistics with clear contingency arrangements.

  • Travel itineraries combine transport, accommodation, contacts, documents and contingency details
  • Approval workflows check budgets, travel policy, visas and security requirements
  • Event checklists cover venue, catering, equipment, invitations, access and timing
  • Run sheets assign responsibilities, milestones, supplier contacts and fallback actions
  • Supplier comparisons assess price, service scope, cancellation terms and availability
  • Accessibility requirements address venue access, dietary needs and communication support
  • Post-event reconciliation records expenditure, supplier performance and outstanding actions

Participants can coordinate administrative work using visible workflows, clear ownership and effective handovers.

  • Process mapping identifies inputs, steps, decisions, outputs and control points
  • RACI matrices clarify responsible, accountable, consulted and informed roles
  • Shared calendars coordinate team cover, deadlines, absences and room bookings
  • Standard operating procedures document repeatable tasks, exceptions and approval points
  • Handover notes record current status, deadlines, contacts and urgent risks
  • Kanban boards visualise administrative requests, work limits and blocked tasks
  • Service measures track response times, backlog volume, errors and stakeholder feedback

Participants can apply course methods through a focused plan for improving their own secretarial practice.

  • SMART objectives define specific improvements, measures, deadlines and accountability
  • Weekly reviews assess commitments, unfinished work, upcoming risks and priorities
  • Interruption logs identify recurring distractions, sources and workable response rules
  • Boundary-setting language declines unsuitable requests while offering appropriate alternatives
  • Feedback conversations seek examples, expectations, impact and agreed improvements
  • Personal templates standardise recurring communications, checklists and meeting records
  • Ninety-day action plans sequence improvements, support needs and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Executive diary control checklist
  2. Meeting agenda, minutes and action register template set
  3. Business correspondence quality-control checklist
  4. ISO 15489-aligned file plan model
  5. Travel and event coordination checklist
  6. Ninety-day secretary improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Secretary — strengthen the systems and judgement needed for dependable senior-level support
  • Executive Assistant — manage executive time, communications and meeting commitments with greater control
  • Personal Assistant — improve diary, travel and correspondence practices for demanding managers
  • Administrative Officer — establish consistent records, service and workflow standards
  • Office Coordinator — coordinate shared office activities, suppliers and visitor requirements effectively
  • Team Administrator — improve meeting follow-through and administrative support for busy teams

Skills and tools covered

Executive diary managementMeeting administrationBusiness correspondenceRecords managementStakeholder communicationOffice process improvement

Tools and standards

Eisenhower Matrix, RACI matrix, SMART objectives, ISO 15489

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by realistic secretary tasks. Participants assess competing diary requests, prepare meeting papers, edit business correspondence, organise travel arrangements and resolve difficult communication scenarios. Case work reflects executive offices, departmental administration and shared-service teams. Group exercises examine handovers, records control and service failures, while simulations develop telephone, visitor and meeting skills. Facilitated review links each method to workplace constraints. Participants finish with an individual application plan and adaptable templates for immediate use.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have some experience of office administration, such as managing emails, arranging meetings, maintaining files or supporting a manager or team. They should be comfortable using standard workplace software for email, calendars and documents, although advanced Microsoft Office skills are not assumed. The course is designed for staff who need to improve established administrative practice rather than people with no office experience. No formal qualification, shorthand ability, project management certification or prior knowledge of records standards is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have some practical office administration experience, such as arranging meetings, managing correspondence or supporting a team. You do not need a formal administration qualification, shorthand training or advanced software skills.

Bring a laptop if you normally use one at work, plus examples of non-confidential templates or processes you want to improve. Do not bring sensitive documents, personal data or restricted meeting papers.

It is designed for secretaries, executive assistants, personal assistants, administrative officers and office coordinators with existing workplace responsibilities. It is most useful for people who support managers, departments or senior leadership offices.

This programme concentrates on the judgement and service demands of professional secretarial work, especially executive diary control, meeting support, correspondence and confidentiality. General administration courses often place more attention on basic office procedures and software tasks.

You will use adaptable checklists, templates and control methods for diary management, meetings, records and communications. The final application plan identifies practical improvements for your own role over the following 90 days.

The programme contains ten teaching modules delivered in sequence across five days, with approximately 32.5 contact hours from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between tutor input, case analysis, practical simulations, group work and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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