Admin assistant

Admin assistants write letters, emails and reports, maintain data records and filing systems and provide support for meetings.

Also known as: Office administrator, clerical assistant, administrative assistant

• Starter salary£21,000 a year
• Experienced£28,000 a year
• Typical hours37 to 40 a week
• Green jobPotential

What you'll do

As an admin assistant, you could:

• handle enquiries on the phone, by email and on social media
• type up letters, reports and other business documents
• update and maintain computer records
• follow data protection guidelines when handling information
• keep track of stock, order office supplies and send out invoices
• set up meetings and take notes during them
• make travel arrangements for staff

Working environment

You could work in an office or remotely.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

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

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

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

Courses include:

• business and administration
• International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) Certificate in IT User Skills (previously ECDL)
• word processing
• T Level in Management and Administration

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, for example:

• Retail Service, Supply and Administration Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
• Administration Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
• Business Administrator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

Work

You might be able to start as an admin assistant on a temporary contract through a recruitment agency. This can often lead into a permanent job.

Qualifications or experience in office work will be helpful. Employers will give you training on the job, covering their data entry systems.

Volunteering

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 can apply directly to become an admin assistant.

Employers may look for GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent qualifications, including English and maths. Word processing and spreadsheet skills will be useful, along with good customer service skills.

Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

• have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
• are in care or have been in care
• are in prison or have been in prison

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation 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

Career path and progression

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

With further training, you could:

• specialise in legal, financial or medical administration
• work in information management
• become a personal or executive assistant

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.

Guides for this industry

• Administration: pay, interviews and getting started →

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0