Other News
As 2012 and our special anniversary year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect.
What makes a great brand? What equates to heritage? There’s been many a paper written on this and many a marketer has tackled this question.
We believe it’s a combination of many factors - layers that build up to make a brand and then consistency in message, and delivery upon promises.
Clearly, we have entered the ‘Digital’ era… Smartphones, tablet PC’s, touchscreens and voice recognition – we’re finally in the swing of futuristic technological flair. This got us thinking…
How many times have you watched someone walking down the street, head in phone, concentrating on quickly typing a text or email on their touchscreen or keypad? Granted, some have this down to a fairly neat art, whilst others have their ‘concentration’ face (tongue poking out of mouth, with a furrowed brow
I’ve been lucky enough to work for a succession of lovely people who also happen to be in the public eye. When people find out what I do, they usually ask one of two questions:
1) How did you get that job?
2) What’s it like working for them?
Last week I was on annual leave and as I’m sure you can imagine on my first day back in the office I was confronted with a shed load of emails and a pile of paperwork **cough cough junk cough** that had been left on my desk. Before I could even begin to tackle the work I had to get through I needed to get everything in a sensible and efficient order. I think mo
This year sees us celebrating 175 years since Sir Isaac Pitman published his world renowned Pitman shorthand system, in 1837, at the relatively young age of just 24. An entrepreneur in his own right, Pitman devised the time-saving system based on phonetics – writing by sound, with each stroke representing a different sound and variations in thickness to highlight the enunciation and emphasis of certain sounds and words… simples!
“They are the gatekeepers. Frequently shrewder than those they serve and always more knowledgeable, office secretaries are back in vogue…”
In October we brought you the latest statistics from the recent success of Pitman Training students. Now with 2012 wll underway we are able to bring you the full set of pass rates and more importantly what percentage of Pitman Training students have achieved Distinction grade in their assessments.
We're tremendously proud of these results and of every Pitman student who has put in the effort to change their lives.
It’s great to be reminded of how far things have come, of course, as we’re doing as part of our 175th anniversary celebrations. But that’s exactly the point – they are celebrations of how much we have achieved as an organisation, and more importantly how much our students have achieved.
Why do we care what people think about how we look? We recently asked around and it became apparent that we weren’t so much ‘dressing to impress’, as we were tailoring our confidence, mentality and attitude to prepare us for our daily ‘catwalk’ - our place of work...
How important is your work wardrobe to how you feel and behave in the office? Do you work in an environment where styles have become more casual over the years - and do you like it, or not? Have you made a real fashion faux pas in the office?
With the recent news that women are facing the highest unemployment rate in 23 years, ITV's Daybreak ran a feature yesterday morning enlisting the help and expertise of The 'Fairy Jobmother' Hayley Taylor, advising how women in the UK can take action towards ending their bouts of unemployment.
We've just about recovered from our annual awards event - this year we were joined by Channel 4's 'Fairy Jobmother' Hayley Taylor, who announced the winner of the Working Mum of the Year Award.
There was barely a dry eye in the room as Hayley began her speech at the Royal York Hotel. The lights dimmed in anticipation of the main event as the winner was announced.
We can now publicly announce that the panel of judges voted Amanda Edwards, from Monmouth as this years' deserving winner.
Amanda was nominated by her 13 year old daughter and with her loving and supportive husband by her side could...
This is the first in a series of Infographics to come out of the data we are collecting from this year's batch of Diploma students. As well as displaying our fantastic pass-rate it also aims to communicate that the majority of students who embark on a Pitman Training Diploma exceeded even their own expectations in terms of what they could achieve. Of course gaining a 'distinction' requires a lot of hard work on their part, but hopefully this goes some way to illustrate how Pitman Training has cr
I’m not really a super mummy, but I strive to be and hey, I hope my two little ones and their Daddy think I am…my life is a daily balancing act between the career ladder, the naughty step and the ever growing laundry pile….and I wouldn’t have it any other way...
Have you had some unreasonable demands made of you by a former (or even current) boss and where/how do we draw the line so that we can enjoy the place that many of us spend most of our waking hours?
Do you love or loathe text speak? Do you think it’s going to change the way we write – over time – for the better or worse? We’d love to know what you think, so please share your comments...
Have you reached the top level in your career despite having to work that bit harder? Do you think in the 21st century this isn’t, or shouldn’t be, an issue? Or do you genuinely believe that it’s been a lack of confidence that’s ‘held you back’ from achieving your dream job – whether you’re male or female?
The word visionary can be over-used, but as it means ‘a person of unusually keen foresight’ we think it’s spot on in this case. We wonder what he’d of made of the evolution of the English language today – such as with text speak and emoticons - and the development of television, the world of social networking or just the internet in general. He’d have been an early adopter at the very least!
Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes. Wouldn’t you be tempted to have a search for a potential candidate on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook? What does your current profile picture say about you? What did you last tweet about?
Wherever we’ve turned in the last week or so there’s been a story in the media about gender discrimination, differences and just good old-fashioned debate, so we thought it was high-time that we had our say too – and we’d love to know your opinions as well.
Tell us your office sins and be in with a chance to win an iPad! Post your comments below or visit our Facebook page
Thou shall not...
1. Spend all day chatting to friends on the phone
2. Spread gossip about one of your colleagues
3. Get too comfy and walk around without your shoes
4. Call in sick when you've really got a hangover
5. Photocopy a part of your anatomy as an office dare
6. Covet a colleague's stapler or hole punch
7. Blame the cleaner for thowing an important document away
8. Abuse office technology...
A couple of things have hit the headlines in the last month or so that prove training in office and PA skills really can change your career direction – and your life!
Stella English bagged her dream job with Lord Sugar in The Apprentice – she left school with no qualifications, but then decided to retrain as a PA and carved out a career with a Japanese bank, progressing to a management position. Her quick-thinking and exceptional organisational skills didn’t go unnoticed and the rest, as they say...
If, like us, you took the opportunity to pay a return visit to...