Launch of 2014 as the International Year of the Secretary and Administrative Assistant

March 4, 2013 - PRLog -- A group of leading South African PAs at their PAFSA association’s annual meeting last Saturday launched two world-relevant initiatives for their profession and peers globally.

Firstly, announcing their intent to celebrate 2014 as the International Year of the Secretary and Administrative Assistant. The Professional Association for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (PAFSA) observed that in 1984 such an international celebration was organised by a US based secretarial body known as PSI (now IAAP) and that 2014 would mark its 30th anniversary.

PAFSA decided that the anniversary should be celebrated and contacted close to 100 secretarial associations worldwide to inform them that South Africa would like to organise an international celebration of the profession for 2014. A task team to head this initiative has been established and its members are Anel Martin, Charlotte Massey-Hicks and Audetta Skosana.

Says Anel, “It is an honour to be part of the task team taking on this project; we are very proud that PAFSA and South Africa are spear-heading this initiative internationally. We hope that this anniversary will strengthen the ties of friendship between South African office professionals and other associations around the world. Most importantly we are striving to raise the profile and visibility of the profession at home and abroad”.

Information on the progress of this initiative will be posted regularly on PAFSA’s website: - http://www.pafsa.ath.cx. Upcoming information will be on theme, logo and events.

Secondly, another of PAFSA’s committees, the President’s Committee whose members all head in-house PA Forums, launched a fully comprehensive toolkit on how to set up and sustain an in-house PA Forum.

Says Susan Engelbrecht,” Experience has shown that in-house forum heads often feel like lone islands. Sharing problem-solving of running a successful forum will go a long way to increase productivity and efficiency. Our vision is that this Manual will encourage professional administrators to passionately grow the profession by sharing knowledge through resourceful networks. We are passionate about our profession and want to continue promoting it!”

The How-to-set-up-a-Forum Toolkit will be available online at PAFSA’s website.

The above initiatives clearly show that South African PAs are ahead of their game, and through their professional association, PAFSA, are showing the marketplace their ability to govern their profession, and that their ‘time has come’. More information on (011) 616 7401;thandi@pafsa.co.za