We’re delighted with our new and extended learning studio here… and so are our students! Our stunning learning environment has more space for group-work, break-out and a library area with our most recommended textbooks and resources. “It’s very trendy, yet professional,” said one student this week. We agree! We’re in a trendy office, in a trendy area. Why not come and see for yourself just why our students love their experience with us?
We receive many enquiries asking: “Why would I do a qualification, as opposed to a stand-alone training course?”. It’s a good question but one which we’re clear about. If you want to gain professional status, gain even greater respect from your employer and your boss, and increase your promotion prospects and earning potential, then being ‘qualified’ is the best way forward. Quite simply, why spend two or more days on a training course, when by attending just six days with Adam Fidler Academy, you can come away with a formal and accredited qualification? Historically, qualifications for EAs and Business Support staff have stopped at Level 3 (eg NVQ Level 3 in Administration) but now you can achieve a formal Level 4 qualification with us - equivalent to a HNC or the first year of a degree - in just six days, plus self-study. It’s a no brainer, and that’s why we attract students from all over the world on our qualification programmes. Take the group pictured above - a mix of Level 3 and Level 4 qualification students. They said, “We have the experience, and can do the job, but want to prove it to others, and have the certification to prove we are professionally qualified in our field.” Now, there’s ambition for you - and many in the group above have already benefited from the fruits of their hard work. A new job title, a pay increase and greater responsibility… that doesn’t come with luck. It comes with hard work, getting qualified and showing your boss you take your role seriously. Professional qualifications, in our view, are the best way to do this. Why attend just a training course, when you can get qualified?
Our contemporary training suite attracts many compliments, and provides a warm and relaxed learning environment for our students and delegates. And, from May this year, to give our learners an even better experience, we’re expanding our training facilities to include an enhanced library area full of resources and artefacts to inspire learning. “It’s all about the experience,” says Adam Fidler. “When students come, whether it’s for a two-day programme or as part of their qualification programme with us, they always love our training facilities - which are in the heart of trendy Ancoats Urban Village in Manchester.” Our Academy is a far cry from the stuffy corporate world, but balances the character and soul of a former Victorian building with the professionalism and polish of a modern office block.
Our first Executive Assistant Newsletter is available to download now! It’s contains our best-selling and most popular perspectives on the ‘new’ EA role, along with tips to be a better and more effective EA. To download it, flick back to our homepage, scroll down and enter your details. Happy reading!
What a delight to be part of this year’s Scottish PA Showcase, held in Edinburgh on Wednesday 27 March. Adam Fidler (pictured here with delegates), spoke about the future skills and competencies needed in the EA role to a 50 strong audience. He also announced he will be returning to Edinburgh later this year, on Friday 20 September 2019, to run a special 1-day Strategic Executive Assistant programme, in collaboration with the Scottish PA Network. Details on that are to be announced - so watch this space!
Adam Fidler Academy is delighted to be a sponsor, for the third year running, of the Manchester PA Awards. We’re sponsoring the ‘Rising Star’ category again this year, to recognise new talent in the PA and EA role. For more details, and to nominate a fellow PA, then click here.
PAs and EAs should know better… Plurals don’t need apostrophes!
(Incorrect: PA’s should know better… Plural’s dont need apostrophe’s!)
Social media, and related commentary or publicity in the PA and EA industry, is littered with this one key grammatically error. And, I see PAs doing it on a regular basis. Many of our students struggle with apostrophes, so let me try and help everyone out there who may not have been taught this before.
When you type or write about the plural of something, there is no need for an apostrophe!
For example, when we’re talking about more than one PA, or EA, we don’t need an apostrophe. The following illustrations are correct:
One PA, Ten PAs, 1 EA, 25 EAs, Thousands of PAs
It may be small, but grammatical errors such as this can really detract from the message. On our business writing programme, we cover the old-fashioned things that make new-fashioned EAs all the better at their jobs. This is one of those things that every EA and PA should know.
We've had many enquiries over the last two months, asking if Adam Fidler’s public seminars on the future and evolution of the EA and PA role are available on podcast or streaming. For now, there are no plans to share Adam’s unrivalled perspectives through video, but Adam has been undertaking a series of regional events in collaboration with Hays Plc, where he talks candidly about the future direction for all business support roles. If you would like to attend, the next events are as follows: Doncaster - 20 March; Milton Keynes - 21 March; and London (Ebury) - 16 April. To book your complimentary place, or for more details, see Adam’s LinkedIn site or contact us. We look forward to seeing you there!
Since December last year, Adam Fidler has been the guest speaker at a number of Hays Personal and Executive Assistants Networking Events across the country. Most recently, Adam spoke to an audience of 70 EAs at the Hays London City event on Thursday 21 February in London. Upcoming is the same event in Milton Keynes and Doncaster. The philosophies of Adam Fidler Academy mirror perfectly those of Hays - the UK’s leading recruiter for PA, Secretarial and Business Support roles. If you’d like to attend the Hays events in Milton Keynes or Doncaster, see our ‘Public courses 2019’ blog or contact us for details.
As well as teaching and training his main portfolio of courses in Manchester and London, Adam Fidler will be teaching and speaking at a number of other key events this year. Dates include:
25 January 2019, ‘Swedish PA Networking Dinner’ held in collaboration with International Management Assistants (IMA) - London, UK.
31 January 2019, Hays PA Networking Evening, - Hays Manchester, UK.
12 February 2019, Hays PA Networking Evening, Hays Nottingham – Best Western Yew Tree Lodge, Kegworth, East Midlands, UK.
15 February 2019, ‘Swedish PA Programme’ conference - Stockholm, Sweden.
19 February 2019, ‘Strategy: sound judgements and making decisions’, Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) development evening – Hays Birmingham, UK.
20 February 2019, ‘Leadership, management and the role of the Executive Assistant’, C&C Search PA networking evening – London, UK.
21 February 2019, Hays PA Networking Evening, Hays London City – London, UK.
5 March 2019, ‘Strategy: sound judgements and making decisions’, Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) development evening – Barclays Manchester, UK.
20 March 2019, Hays PA Networking Breakfast, Hays Doncaster – Doncaster, UK.
21 March 2019, Hays PA Networking Breakfast, Hays Milton Keynes – Milton Keynes, UK.
27 March 2019, Scottish PA Spring Showcase Evening – Edinburgh, UK.
8-9 April 2019, 'The Ultimate Personal Assistant' 2-day programme - Johannesburg, South Africa.
Executive & Personal Assistants Association (EPAA) UK Fellow Training Days: 10 May (London), 13 May (Edinburgh), 14 May (Manchester), 16 May (Leicester), 17 May (Southampton).
23 May 2019, Executive PA Forum - Dublin, Ireland.
22 June 2019, International Management Assistants (IMA) Netherlands Saturday Training Day - Amsterdam, Netherlands.
20 September 2019, The Strategic Executive Assistant (1-day programme), The Scotsman Hotel - Edinburgh, Scotland.
19, 20 and 21 November 2019, The Strategic Executive Assistant (1-day programme) - Dublin, Ireland.
Details of specific events, above, will be announced on LinkedIn - or please contact us for more information or to book to see Adam Fidler at any of these events.
We’re delighted to continue working in partnership with the University Salford in 2019 who are offering Adam Fidler Academy programmes as part of their portfolio of ‘One CPD’ training courses.. Says Adam: “It’s a huge accolade to be partnering with a University, who recognise the value and quality of our courses. Salford University’s One CPD is a leading player in the the management training market and now offer training for the bosses, and their PAs!” For more details click here.
2018 has been a wonderful year for Adam Fidler Academy, and that's mainly down to all the high-calibre PAs and EAs who have chosen to study with us. I'd like to thank all of our students for their ingenuity and dedication to their EA profession. You truly are the creme de la creme! Here are just a few of you, and we look forward to seeing more of you in 2019!
Adam Fidler Academy is delighted to provide the commentary in the Hays UK Salary and Recruitment Trends 2019 Guide on the role of the EA and PA. As part of the launch of this Guide, Adam is speaking at the Hays PA Event on Thursday 6 December 2018 in Birmingham about the every changing landscape of the EA. For more details and to attend this event click here.
160 Business Support staff trained! Adam Fidler was delighted to work with Arup, whose progressive thinking about the role of Business Support saw 160 EAs, PAs, Project Assistants and Front of House staff undertake a bespoke programme throughout October and November. The programme, designed to elevate the status, and future-proof the role, of Business Support was a bespoke course, written and delivered by Adam Fidler, that focussed on new Success Factors pertinent to all Business Support staff. From big picture thinking to innovation, Arup certainly raised the bar with the level and content delivered. All in the name of professional excellence! Said Adam: “Arup are the most forward-thinking client I’ve had the pleasure to work with. The programme we devised was rolled out to 160 support staff across 12 regions and is already making an impact on the way support staff perceive themselves, operate and how they are utilised by their managers and leaders.”
Our 2-day Strategic EA programme continues to attract EAs from all over the world. The most innovative clients we work with, including Roche based in Basel, Switzerland, want to give their EAs the most up-to-date thinking around the role of the Assistant to help them future-proof their roles, add wider organisational value and be more effective. Adam is seen here with in-house delegates on the programme on 29-30 October 2018 in Basel. What an enthusiastic group they were!
Adam Fidler, in his capacity of sponsor and judge of The Manchester PA Awards 2018, was delighted to present Lawrence Adlum, Secretary at KPMG in Manchester, with the ‘Rising Star Award’ on Thursday 1 November 2018. As Adam said: “As a former male secretary, it gives me great pleasure to present another male secretary with this accolade.” Congratulations to Lawrence, and all the other PAs who won category awards at the evening.
A huge thanks to the 50 delegates who attended our Scottish Training Day on Friday 5 October in Edinburgh. With fellow-trainer, Victoria Darragh (CEO of the Executive & Personal Assistants Association), delegates learnt about managing up, influence and adding wider organisational value. We are especially indebted to Rosemary McLennan (Founder of The Scottish PA Network) for her hard work in making this event happen. As Rosemary commented: “This is the largest turn-out ever to a Scottish Training Day; we knew the content and speakers would be relevant to any forward thinking PA or EA.”
We’re enrolling now for 2018-19 entry on to our popular EA Diploma, Level 3 Executive Assistant and Level 4 Executive Assistant programmes! Various start dates and pathways are available to suit you! From as little as 6 days’ study at our Academy in Manchester (plus self-learning) you can achieve a full Level 4 qualification in Office and Administrative Management. Or, our Level 3 Award in PA Skills is the practical routeway to being a qualified and professional PA. Enquire for more details or click here.
That’s the issue! Traditionally, qualifications, training courses or learning for Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants just haven’t been mapped to anything, let alone a level! So, whilst you might think you’re doing a course which is the right level for you, many EAs and PAs are left thoroughly disappointed as a lot of courses officially only map to a Level 2 (GCSE Level in the UK). For the top EA jobs today, employers are seeking a minimum of a Level 3 qualification or even a Level 4. All our courses are mapped to official qualification ‘Levels’ which means how hard they are. To benchmark, a Level 2 is equivalent to GCSEs or entry-level; a Level 3 is broadly equivalent to A-Levels or a BTEC National Diploma and a Level 4 is broadly equivalent to the first year of a Degree or HNC. Your level of attainment is key and our Level 4 content is unrivalled - because at that Level it’s ‘business and management’, not ‘secretarial and admin’. Get it?
Back by popular demand, the Adam Fidler Academy/Executive & Personal Assistants Association Executive PA Development and Training Day! Join us on Friday 28 September 2018 at the Holiday Inn Hotel Manchester City Centre for a day of high-level training and learning. And, if you want to network the night before, on Thursday 27 September, we’re hosting a complimentary drinks reception at the Etihad Stadium, home of the 2018 Premier League Champions, Manchester City Football Club. For more details and to book, click here.
