Administration course
Business administration course
Meanwhile, I knew that I could not rely on the prospect of a return to computer programming. In May 1997, I attended a business administration course at Interquad in Birmingham. The course covered reception, switchboard, health and safety, stock control, spreadsheets, databases and word processing. It was all basic stuff, but this was my first experience of word processing as I paid specialist typing services to do my CV.
My original understanding of the NVQ system was that one could gain recognition for successes at individual unit level but Interquad did not operate that way. Once I realised that, I knew that there was no chance of gaining a certificate. I did not mind as that was not the reason I attended, although I know that I'd improve my chances of securing a general office job if I had a certificate in business administration at NVQ level 2. As things turned out, I did better on reception and switchboard than I had expected. I still don't think I would be suitable for any job in which such duties were a major part of the work, but I would expect to gain a certificate if I were to take a similar course in future.
At first glance, I was even more over-qualified for this course than for the earlier C course, but I gained quite a lot from it. I helped other students with their computer problems. I re-worked my CV yet again and generated a number of standard letters. I gained an insight into computerised office packages. I learned about plastic wallets for manual document filing.
Most importantly of all, I revised Interquad's word processing course guide and kept a copy of it. It impressed the other students as well as my tutor, George Kakaire. George's original guide was good in its way but contained some material that wasn't used in the course while failing to mention some stuff that was used, so it was in need of revision. I relegated the stuff that wasn't used in the course to a supplement (it would have been useful in a real job) and put in all the information that was needed but missing. I also added extra comments to George's where I felt the need.
Following completion of the course, I took my CV to several agencies specialising in general office vacancies, but I had no response. I thought I might be able to get work with my newly-acquired word processing skills, but I was competing against people with substantial experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment