Office work is a general name we give to
- clerical and secretarial jobs: the support and administrative tasks that go on behind the scenes in every organisation
- public service jobs: in local government, the Civil Service and in public bodies like the health service.
All organisations and businesses also need supervisors, team leaders and managers to run them.
Most current Modern Apprenticeships are in general management and administration.
For most jobs in this career area you should be good at
communicating – on the phone, face-to-face and in writing
dealing with people
handling information (computer skills are important)
organising (yourself and others)
being patient
handling stress
getting things done
deciding priorities
negotiating (with workers and the public)
taking decisions
taking responsibility (even if you are not in a supervisory post).
In a management or supervisory job you’ll need these skills at a higher level than you will as an office junior.