The full secretarial training course with Pitman’s Institute in the 1970s, hands down. Back then it was 18 months in duration. Money well spent.
A lot of people today don’t realise this, but a secretarial course teaches (and trains up) people in many of the ways and ‘habits’ of the real workplace — the stuff of ‘work’ that otherwise might take several years to acquire from experience alone.
- Touch typing (obviously)
- Shorthand (obviously too)
- Independent correspondence — especially the typical phraseology and construction of business letters, and their various standard forms and types (and this often touches the matter of document markups, amendments and general copyediting)
- Dealing with difficult customers and co-workers
- Dealing with independent contractors and temps
- General office management and personnel supervision, including recruitment and job interviewing
- Basic bookkeeping — including invoicing, accounts receivables and accounts payables, petty-cash management, handling cash, banking routines, etc
- General recordkeeping, basic librarianship, health and safety documentation compliance
- Event organisation and services contracting
- Etc
Indeed, I became a book editor with a major London book publishing company at the super tender age of 17–18 solely on the strength of my secretarial skills (and my English-language proficiency).
Additionally, About 20 years ago at SVA in NYC: How to Draw Anything, Especially From Your Head. The teacher, Jerry Moriarty, presented his own ideas and methodology for visual storytelling. He encouraged students to tap into their mind’s eye when figuring out how to draw something….and discouraged the use of reference material (including drawing from life). This was a great class, and I still use the fundamentals I learned there.
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