KEY POINTS:
TRAINING PLACE
What: National Certificate in Business Administration & Computing Level 3 (entry level).
Where: Northern Business College, Takapuna.
Course dates: January and July. NBC is enrolling now.
Contact: ph 486 1788 or visit www.nbc.co.nz.
Course cost: $1950 for 23 weeks. Courses run 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.
Starting salary: $30K for legal administrators.
Career prospects: Legal administrators can take on extra study such as the legal executive certificate and can go on to do law degrees. Career opportunities include senior administration positions, professional development management and HR management.
The National Certificate in Business Administration & Computing Level 3 (entry level) course provides the knowledge and skills needed for office employment.
The computing and administration skills equip participants to begin or restart a career in the business workplace; or it can be a building base to carry on studying.
The course covers Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook and Internet Explorer - plus MYOB Payroll Administration and Debtors and Creditors, employment and communication skills.
Many graduates move into employment in business administration, legal secretarial, PA, customer service, banking, data entry and real estate support.
Law firm Simpson Grierson has taken on several graduates from the course to work as legal administrators.
Julie O'Brien, professional development manager with the firm, says: "Every legal administrator starts with a qualification similar to the NBC's and then legal firms 'customise' their training to fit their needs.
"Even though graduates have technical skills from business college, there is law firm-specific software that they need training on. There's lots of intensive training around the finance system, receipting funds, the difference between the general ledger and the trust accounts. And there are law society rules and regulations that need to be adhered to.
"With new legal administrators, we run a workshop on the competencies and qualities of professionalism which includes things like telephone techniques, meeting and greeting clients and dress code.
"Another workshop is understanding the law, the court system, legal jargon. On top of that is on-the-job coaching. Every legal administrator has a desk file containing all of the team-specific information, who the clients are, special reports needed, how your team likes the phone answered. They also have a work buddy.
"Even though the juniors are new, upskilling should be quick. We recruit for attitude and we train for skills."
THE GRADUATE
Sophie Gagnon (18)
Graduated December 2005
Legal administrator for commercial property team, Simpson Grierson
I pretty much look after the whole team, kind of like a secretary. The role is varied, from general office duties, billing, diary management, working with legal documents and communicating with clients.
I started in August. I thought this was a good job to get into; it can take me anywhere. I find law interesting. There are always opportunities to learn more skills and develop your career. I had been looking for a job where I could move up. No other law firms or companies were offering training as a legal administrator. Simpson Grierson has a great reputation, it's a great environment and the offices are really nice.
The NBC training covered a wide range of skills, from computer and technology to general office knowledge, social and communication skills. The course's work experience was a great way to gain confidence in preparation for working in an office environment.
I chose NBC because I know several people who have done extremely well after doing their courses. They taught every single program, even MYOB - just that bit of experience was helpful. Sometimes I go on the computer and I think, 'I remember that from the course'. Or someone will ask me, 'How do I take these bullet points off this PowerPoint presentation?"'
THE EMPLOYER
Trudy Wright
Human resources manager, Simpson Grierson
Sophie was poised, professional and confident. She appeared motivated and had very good communication skills - and that can-do attitude. She was so keen. She wanted to work in a law firm.
Sophie had the proven technical skills that we were looking for in the role. We also do psychometric assessments to find someone who fits in the team. We look at applicants' accuracy - their spelling, grammar and typing are important. We reference check to find good feedback about their attendance, work ethic, professional presentation, confidence and can-do attitude.
With the college training, Sophie understands what the role is; we know we can help her elaborate and grow on that. The work experience is critical; it's such a shock to go from a school to an office, particularly a law firm where time is literally money and the expectations are great. We have had other people who have done the business course at NBC and they have been high performers.
