As we break up for Christmas, Adam Fidler Academy would like to say a huge thank you to all our students, clients and supporters for a great 2024! We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas - and best wishes for the New Year ahead. We’re back on the 6 January 2025 - so, we’ll see many more EAs and PAs then!
Adam Fidler was delighted to be the guest speaker at the Hays EA/PA Networking Event, at Hays Manchester, on Friday 1 November 2024. With over 65 PAs and EAs present, Adam’s talk on ‘The Strategic Executive Assistant - not just a PA!’ went down a storm. With key strategies and tips on how to take an EA’s role further, by adding wider value, and defining the true role of the EA - away from staid and traditional forms of PA support - those who attended were left feeling enthused and energised. Adam Fidler Academy works exclusively with Hays, as their recruitment partner, and this is just one of a number of events held throughout the year. Watch this space! In 2025, Adam will be repeating this event with Hays London (date to be announced).
We’re delighted to launch our eagerly-awaited Level 6 Diploma in Business Management! This degree-equivalent qualification is designed specifically for EAs and PAs who would like to obtain an advanced qualification in business management, but who don’t have the time to commit to a full degree or attend University. Starting in the Spring of 2025, you can see more and the full brochure here.
We’re delighted to announce the details of our informal Learning and Collaboration Day, which will take place this year on Friday 11 October 2024, from 10:00-16:00 hrs. The event, which is open to Alumni, students and non-students alike, will be held in-house at our Academy and includes some superb new content. It’s also a great way to sample our Academy experience if you’ve never studied with us before. For more details and to book, please click here.
As well as our students receiving their formal qualifications at our Graduation Ceremony on 18 July 2024, some of them received additional Awards for their brilliance! Pictured left to right is: Mandy Nash (EA to CEO at Nedbank Private Wealth) who won Student of the Year 2024; Maria Darnell (EA to UK Chair, Arup) who won Award for Perseverance; and Melissa Dunn (Learning and Development Business Partner, IMI Plc) who won Award for Aspiration. I’m sure you will agree, our Awards, which are based on academic studies and professional excellence, are worth shouting about. Well done to Mandy, Maria and Melissa for standing out even further, amongst all our superb EAs!
We know what makes a good Executive Assistant! And, we know that until you’ve done one of our Level 4 programmes, such as The Strategic Executive Assistant, or our Level 4 Certificate in Business and Administrative Management, you don’t really quite get the ‘true’ EA role. So, why not join us this Autumn for unrivalled learning, based on defining what the EA role really is (and isn’t!) and take your EA career from good to outstanding! Says Adam Fidler: “So many EAs are good at their jobs - but to be the very best, it requires a new mindset, new way of thinking about the EA job, and new behaviours. We call this the Managerial Mindset, and all our students are encouraged to adopt this!” Our graduates speak for themselves. Why not be one of them?
The Adam Fidler Academy Graduation Ceremony took place on Thursday 18 July 2024, at the Abode Hotel, Manchester. The event saw forty EAs and PAs graduate in caps and gowns, and be awarded with their formal qualifications in the following: SFJ Awards Level 3 Award in Professional PA Skills; SFJ Awards Level 4 Certificate in Office and Administrative Management; and the SFJ Awards Level 5 Diploma in Business and Administrative Management. After the event, graduates and their guests had dinner, plenty of networking and lots of celebrating! We’re so proud of our graduates - well done to them all! The event was also featured in PA Life Magazine. You can read the article here.
What do you know about corporate governance? Do you understand how a Board of Directors works? Why is governance important? These are key questions a client asked us to address with their EAs, who all supported Board Members. We had to agree: EAs today need a basic awareness of corporate accountability, the workings of a board and governance processes and procedures. If you’d like to learn more about corporate governance, then our 1-day seminar, Introduction to Corporate Governance, is running on the 26 July 2024 and the 13 September 2024. For details, please contact us. It’s another course in the essential tool-kit of EAs!
Our London networking event on the 19 June 2024 was a huge success! The event, entitled ‘Why AI will never oust the EA’ was based on Adam Fidler’s most recent article by the same name, and saw over 40 EAs and PAs mingle over champagne and buffet, before listening to a short talk by Adam Fidler. We were also delighted to hear a brief introduction by the Chairman of SSE Plc, John Manzoni, who shared his views on the importance of the EA role. At the end, all delegates were presented with the latest AFA-branded tote bags, which say “Forget AI, I’m an EA!” on them! A fitting gift… we hope you agree! A big thank you goes to SSE Plc for hosting us at their London offices, and to Leigh Thomson-Persaud, PA to Chairman at SSE Plc, for her support in arranging this wonderful event. The next London networking event is to be announced - so watch out for updates on our events page.
Adam Fidler was thrilled to be the guest speaker at the recent Hays EA/PA Breakfast Event on Tuesday 23 April 2024, with a topic entitled ‘The Role of the Strategic EA and PA’. The event was held at Nottingham Trent University (Newton Building) and saw a turn out of nearly 70 PAs and EAs come together to understand how they can future-proof their role.
Join the thousands of EAs and PAs who have trained and educated with us! You, too, can improve your skills, competencies and confidence - and create that EA career path you been dreaming of! For a list of all our course dates, click here.
There’s far too much talk about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence! How will it affect business support roles, such as PAs and EAs? In his latest thought-piece, Adam Fidler talks about why EAs - and their leaders - will never be replaced by AI… but only if they hone the right skills. You can read the article here - and it’s one not to be missed! In addition, Adam Fidler and his Alumni will be hosting an exclusive networking event on the 19 June 2024 in central London on the same topic. You can book a ticket to attend here.
Adam Fidler Academy is delighted to partner with the Executive and Personal Assistants Association (EPAA) to create the The Susie Barron-Stubley Memorial Scholarship Fund. Many EAs and PAs, the world over, will remember Susie Barron-Stubley (pictured above with Adam Fidler in October 2014), a world-class EA/PA Trainer, who, sadly, passed away in 2015 - and is very much missed by the profession. To mark her memory, and legacy, The Scholarship will offer two places on our Level 3 Award and Level 4 Certificate programmes, with all course fees paid for. You can learn more about The Scholarship here, and how to apply. Applications close at the end of May 2024, and we look forward to welcoming two very lucky people to our Academy, courtesy of EPAA and The Scholarship Fund.
We’re delighted to announce that The Strategic Executive Assistant is coming to Barcelona on the 6-7 June 2024! In this very special series, over two days, Adam Fidler will lead his unrivalled programme, with an option to attend one or two days, in the glorious location of Barcelona! For more details, and to see the brochure, please email us. You can attend Module 1 - Advanced Management, and/or Module 2 - Executive Excellence. We look forward to seeing you in the sunshine!
Adam Fidler’s article entitled ‘Formal training for PAs and EAs: professional status and qualifications’ is featured in the latest edition of PA Life Magazine. Many of our students, and client organisations, get confused about the various options available when selecting a formal training programme; here is some good advice! And, you can read the article here.
Why settle for second-best? If you’re a career-savvy PA or EA, who wants to learn to be the creme-de-la-creme, then nothing will support you more than our two-day The Strategic Executive Assistant programme. In fact, we’re very proud of this two-day programme, as we know it has supported of thousands of EAs the world over to gain more recognition, higher status and build their earning potential. Our testimonials confirm this. Written and delivered by Adam Fidler, the UK’s most credible EA educator, the course continues to set the bar and raise the industry standard for the EA role. The course will be held next on 21-22 March 2024 in London, and the 25-26 April 2024 in Manchester. Why not join us - and take your career from good to outstanding? You can see more details here:
Adam Fidler Academy were delighted to join Hays Plc at their EA/PA webinar on the 7 February 2024, to share key trends and insights from Hays’ survey of nearly 15,000 employers for their latest Salary and Recruiting Guide. The webinar focussed on the PA/EA industry - and there were just shy of 300 delegates in attendance. What a turn out! If you missed the webinar, you can still download a free copy of the guide here. You can then select ‘PA/EA’ as the industry and see the latest trends, and insights in the sector. It’s well worth a read - and we’d recommend every PA and EA look at their industry for some great advice on skills of the future, salaries and the evolution of the role. Says Adam Fidler: “I am delighted to have written the commentary again this year - and to validate that our perspectives on what’s happening in the EA/PA industry align perfectly with what Hays are seeing in the marketplace. Our qualifications and programmes also match the skills needed, and in demand, for the up-to-date EA role.”
What better way to start 2024 than with sending out certificates to our students! There’s nothing better than gaining a formal qualification, and the ultimate prize is getting a certificate from an official awarding body! We insist on paper certificates - who wants merely a PDF version? - and take great pride in posting them recorded delivery to our students. Here is just a sample, that will be posted later on today! Credible - Confident - Qualified… that’s an Adam Fidler Academy Executive Assistant!
Adam Fidler Academy is delighted to be featured in the January 2024 edition of the North West Business Insider Magazine, the North West’s leading business magazine for CEOs and Leaders. You can see the article here, which summarises, perfectly, what we’re all about!
It was a delight to see some of our Alumni back in Manchester on Friday 1 December for our informal Alumni Networking Day! And, what a great event! With some fresh learning on change management and the ‘inputs and outputs of the EA role’ - as well as a retro office equipment quiz - everyone had a great time! Thank you to all those who attended; especially those who travelled from far and wide to part of it!
