This course is predominantly applied in nature and has been carefully devised to offer a balance between the business knowledge required in industry and those skills considered most pertinent to the work of an office administrator/ manager. This skillset meets both the essential and desired job specification requirements and presents opportunities to work in a diverse range of industries. The skills and applications learned during this four-year degree programme are universal – meaning graduates will have the required competencies to work (office based and/or remotely) in Ireland and internationally. The demand from industry is for well-presented, enthusiastic and most importantly, multi-skilled professionals to work in office and administration roles. Requirement for specific administrative skills is increasing – legal knowledge & skills and healthcare administration skills are highly sought after. Current shortages are reported in middle management for administrative assistants, customer care, languages, sales; and for finance administrators in credit control and payroll (National Skills Bulletin, 2022).
You will have the opportunity to study key business related subjects together with the essential office skills of keyboard techniques, touch typing, Dictaphone typing/ audio transcription, computerised accounts and payroll, effective business writing and research skills. You will further develop your IT skills through use of universal software – Microsoft Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and SAP (Enterprise Resource Planning software). In addition, you will benefit from industry placement which will provide you with the opportunity to acquire and develop knowledge, skills and professional values in a modern office environment. This placement will enable you to use both your soft skills and technical skills in the workplace, gain exposure in an employment setting and establish contacts in industry; all of which are important when building a career. Placement consolidates learning, builds on intelligence and conceptual thinking skills and prepares the student for entry into the professional world upon graduation.
