PA/Secretarial Diploma

Name: PA/Secretarial Diploma
Author: David McLachlan

This diploma provides a solid foundation in essential secretarial skills. The training is hands-on and practical, ensuring you can confidently apply your new skills in the workplace.

This diploma is ideal for those new to this profession or those who want to refresh their PA/Secretarial skills.

The skills needed for a rewarding secretarial or administrative job

Gone are the days when being a secretary meant simply taking care of the typing, filing, and answering of phones. Today, a great Personal Assistant is central to the smooth running of any business, ensuring day-to-day activities happen in the most efficient manner. With our PA/ Secretarial Diploma, you’ll learn the essential skills to be a highly regarded Secretary or Personal Assistant, problem-solving and prioritising workloads to allow executives and managers to work more effectively.

Essential secretarial skills that employers are looking for

If you’re keen to gain a job working as a Secretary or Personal Assistant, you’ll require excellent skills with technology, organisation, flexibility, plus strong interpersonal and communication abilities. This diploma is designed to develop your keyboarding speeds, teach you how to master the most common business software packages, and teach you excellent communication techniques.

You’ll also be able to choose from a number of elective subjects to complement your diploma, and the skills you’ll learn are transferable across many different industries. Our PA/Secretarial Diploma will open doors for you to myriad opportunities as a highly qualified administrative professional.

Course Info

Duration 200 hours flexi study or 8 weeks full-time (Full-time based on approx. 20-30 hours a week)

Training Type Diploma

Study Type In centre, Online

Awards & Qualifications

Awarded 200 CPD points upon successful completion

Discounted Training

CITB Members can receive a special discounted rate on our training courses – Click to find out more

Is this course right for me?

Career Path

As the name of this diploma suggests, with this credential on your CV, you could look to work as a Personal Assistant, Secretary, Senior Administrator, or Office Administrator.

From there, you could enhance your career progression and aim for roles such as EA, VA or Office Manager. Or you could look to work in a more specialised field as a Medical Secretary or Legal Secretary.

What will you get in return?

A Pitman Training diploma is one of the most prestigious training programmes you can complete from one of the most highly regarded training organisations in the world. Businesses recognise the Pitman Training name as a sign that you have been trained to the highest level. With your PA/Secretarial Diploma, you’ll have world-class skills to get a job as a highly valued, well-paid PA.

Awarded 200 CPD points upon successful completion

Duration 200 hours flexi study or 8 weeks full-time (Full-time based on approx. 20-30 hours a week)

Course Content

Core Courses

Typaz

Learn to touch-type at speeds of up to 40+ words per minute, even if you have little to no prior experience. You’ll receive guidance on ergonomics, technique, and accuracy.

Word

The aim of the course is for you to learn the core features and functions of the Microsoft Word application, so you will be effective in creating, formatting, and editing documents.

Or Word Expert

This course is for those who are proficient with the basic and intermediate concepts and features of Word and wish to increase their productivity and enhance their documents using Word’s advanced features.

Excel

Microsoft Excel is the world’s most popular spreadsheet program. In this course, you’ll learn how to format spreadsheets to best display data, handle simple and complex formulas, insert charts, learn how to insert functions, and much more.

Or Excel Expert

You’ll learn advanced-level features of Microsoft Excel, such as macros, PivotTables, PivotCharts, and data analysis tools to help you make data-driven decisions.

Teams

You will learn how to use the core features of Microsoft Teams to set up and start meetings, send messages, collaborate on documents, and more.

SharePoint

In this course, you’ll learn how to use the core features of Microsoft SharePoint to store, organise, share, and access information from any device.

Outlook

Our Outlook course takes you through everything you need to use this popular email system as a work tool, from navigation and views through contacts and appointments, to tasks and folders.

ELECTIVE COURSES (choose four)

Effective Business Communication
Successful Meetings and Minutes
PA Essentials
VA Essentials
Speedwriting
PowerPoint
Zoom
Google Docs
Audio Transcription
Health and Safety Essentials

Alternative subjects may be chosen if more suitable to your existing skills and career goals.

Course Overview

Aims & Objectives

The Pitman Training PA/Secretarial Diploma is designed to teach you a core set of secretarial skills that employers look for in their support/admin staff.

Pre-Requisites

There are no formal pre-requisites required for this diploma.

August 2026

August 4 Speedwriting – 1-day Workshop