Administrative Assistant

As an Administrative Assistant you provide day-to-day office support to managers, teams and clients across a wide range of organisations. Your work involves answering telephone calls, greeting visitors, handling incoming and outgoing mail, maintaining filing systems and organising documents. You may also process invoices, schedule meetings, order office supplies and draft routine emails and correspondence on behalf of your team. You work closely with colleagues at all levels, from reception staff to senior management, and are often the first point of contact for people contacting the organisation.

A Leaving Certificate is the typical starting point, and subjects such as Business, Accounting, Irish and English at any level are useful. Many people enter this role through a QQI Level 5 PLC course in Business Administration or Office Administration, available at Colleges of Further Education throughout Ireland. A QQI Level 6 Higher Certificate in Business or Office Management can strengthen your prospects and open doors to supervisory roles. Some employers, particularly in the public sector, recruit directly from school and provide on-the-job training supported by in-house or ETB-delivered programmes. No professional registration body is required for this role, though ECDL or Microsoft Office certification is widely valued by Irish employers.