How to Become an Administrator

Are you the organiser of your group? The one who makes the plans, books the tickets, and then makes sure everyone has a ride home at the end of the night? Then you could have what it takes to be an administrator. Administrators are sometimes also referred to as Office administrators, clerical assistants, or administrative assistants. The primary role of an administrator is to support businesses by organising meetings, typing documents and updating computer records, but the role can vary wildly from business to business. In some organisations, you may also be responsible for office management whilst in others, you could undertake basic bookkeeping duties. Perhaps the best thing about being an administrator is that you are involved in the operation of the business at all levels, meaning that you are constantly learning new and transferable skills and that you’re never bored!

If you like to organise things, believe that there’s a place for everything, and enjoy keeping everything together then working as an administrator could be a great use for your skills. From what an administrator’s salary might be, to what administrator jobs involve, here’s everything you need to know about how to become an administrator:

What is an Administrator

The role of an administrator can be incredibly varied. Not quite sure what an administrator is? That’s probably because different employers have different definitions of the role! At the highest level, an administrator is an individual who carries out administrative tasks for a business. As a corporate administrator, your role might involve organising meetings, maintaining a schedule for meeting rooms, taking notes and typing paperwork, or organising travel for members of your team. By contrast as a hospital administrator, you might have a more public-facing role, organising hospital appointments for patients, as well as ensuring that their notes are in order and that their appointment letters are typed and posted in a timely manner.

Administrators are usually an entry-level position within an office environment, making securing an administrator’s role a great way to enter the business world and start climbing your way up the corporate ladder. As an administrator you will get a great overview of every department within your organisation, often offering assistance and administrative support to team members within these. What’s more, because administration is an office-based role, you will benefit from regular office working hours: generally, you will work between 9-5, and on Mondays to Fridays with very limited evening or weekend work expected.

Personal Qualities of an Administrator

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of an administrator role is that most employers won’t require you to have any formal qualifications to secure the role. Instead, they will look at your skills and personality to ensure that you will be a good fit for the position. Some of the skills and personal qualities that you’ll need to work successfully as an administrator include:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Much of your role will involve interacting with others, organising their schedules or helping them with administrative tasks. For this reason, you should be able to communicate clearly with others and feel comfortable being around other people for extended periods of time
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work in a methodical way. Your role will involve planning and organising schedules, both for yourself and often for others, so you will need to be able to work in a planned and controlled manner
• The ability to be a good team player, whilst also being able to work independently
• Versatility and the ability to adapt well to change, work flexibly, keep your head in a crisis, and find solutions to problems in a quick and calm manner
• A high level of computer literacy and good administration skills. The ability to use the most common administrative software packages would also be beneficial
• Good customer service skills

What an Administrator Does

Most administrators work within an office environment, but the role that they undertake within that environment will vary from business to business. You will universally be responsible for administrative tasks and for assisting other individuals working within the business with their organisation tasks, such as setting up meetings both in the office and in external locations. Other duties that you may be asked to undertake include:

• Dealing with questions and enquiries either from other business partners or from members of the general public. You may be dealing with these by the phone, by email, or via your company social media channels
• Welcoming visitors to your premises, greeting them at reception and ensuring they make their way to the right department or meeting room
• Maintaining good working relationships with your company’s customers: this could include B2B customers or members of the general public
• Completing general administrative tasks such as typing letters, reports and other business documents as needed
• Print and photocopy items as needed, delivering them to the correct department or meeting room
• Keep a full inventory of office supplies, reordering office supplies when they are needed
• Arrange meetings, set up meeting rooms and ensure they are available when needed, and take notes during meetings as necessary
• Keep track of all ongoing projects and ensure that the costs and personnel needs for each of these projects is kept up to date
• Maintain customer information databases, as well as databases of any internal staff contact information
• Make travel arrangements for staff, keeping receipts for transport and accommodation costs so that these can be reimbursed quickly and efficiently
• Create a positive working environment and ensure that the working environment you create complies with both internal company policies and internal company regulations

How Much Does an Administrator Earn?

Because administrators can work in so many different sectors, locations and industries, an administrator salary and earning potential can vary wildly. Expect factors such as your level of education, amount of relevant job experience you have, and the type and size of the company you work for to have an impact on how much you will earn.

To give you an approximate estimate of what you might earn as an administrator, the average starting salary for the role is £14,000 whilst more experienced administrators will earn an average of £28,000.

Administration roles also offer plenty of opportunities for career progression, whilst you will earn valuable and transferable skills. A natural next step for an experienced administrator is to become a secretary (where average salaries are between £25,000 and £30,000) or a Personal Assistant (PA) or Executive PA, where salaries start from around £30,000. Administrators often choose to move into other roles within the company that they are working in: departments such as payroll, IT, and accounting are a natural fit for the transferable skills that you will have developed by working in administration.

Qualifications Needed for an Administrator

There are no set required qualifications to become an administrator, though there are several routes that you could take to secure an administrative position. Some of the most common routes include:

• Taking a relevant college course
• Securing an apprenticeship position, combining paid on the job learning with college training
• Applying directly for an entry-level administrative role
• Working directly towards the role within a business environment

Because administrator roles are in high demand, and securing a desirable position can be competitive, demonstrating your commitment to the industry by obtaining a relevant college-based qualification is much more likely to make you stand out from the crowd. You can either work towards these qualifications in a physical college setting or you could choose an online college to fit around your existing commitments, including your work and family life. Some examples of courses that would help you secure an administrator role include:

NCFE Level 2 certificate in principles of business administration course
NCFE Level 3 certificate in principles of business administration course
Level 3 Business administration course

Before you apply for an administration course, you will need to have the required qualifications. These will vary depending on the course you apply for. For a level 2 course, you will need to have 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent alternative qualifications. For a level 3 course, you will need to have 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent alternative qualifications. Some course providers will ask that two of those GCSEs are in maths and English, to ensure you have the base level of literacy and numeracy skills required for the course. You should check this with your course provider before you apply.

If you would prefer to learn in a more hands-on way and ‘earn as you learn’ then you could secure an apprenticeship in an administrative role. Administrator apprenticeships are usually advanced apprenticeships, and the set requirements for apprenticeships at this level are that you have 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths. Because apprenticeships across all sectors are highly sought after, you could give yourself a competitive edge before making your application by securing some relevant work experience or voluntary work. Some great examples of this are to volunteer with a charity within an office-based role, to get some experience of working in an office environment or taking an entry-level part-time job in an office-based environment. Sometimes these part-time voluntary or work experience positions can even lead to full time, permanent roles.

Because there are no set or legal requirements for working as an administrator, you could apply directly for an administrative assistant role, regardless of your level of qualifications. Some employers may require that you have:

• GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent qualifications, including English and maths
• A full driving licence
• Good quality telephone, typing or IT skills. They also might require that you can demonstrate these by taking a typing or computing test at the interview stage

On the Job Training

If you take on an entry-level administrative assistant role without any formal administrator qualifications, then you will learn the practical elements of your role through on-the-job training. You will usually be paired with a more senior administrator who will mentor you and help to develop your skills. You could also consider taking one of the administrator qualifications outlined above to enhance your skills: this will show your commitment to the position, and will also help you secure promotions or similar roles in other companies. If you already have an administrator job then consider online learning: you can do this at your own pace and your own schedule, organising your workload to fit around your job and your lifestyle.

Professional Bodies

The two main professional bodies for administrators in the UK are the Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) and the Chartered Association of Business Administrators (CABA). There are tangible benefits of membership to both of these organisations, and you are advised to research both in order to decide which is right for you: if you can’t make a choice, you could even register to become a member of both!

Choosing CABA membership enables you to be part of a professional body that represents and supports excellence in all aspects of the business administration profession worldwide, however, there are stringent requirements for those who wish to be accepted to the organisation. To become a full CABA member, you must have a bachelor’s degree in an administrative or business-related field, demonstrate that you have at least three full years of work experience in a relevant, administrative role, and have successfully completed one of the five courses that have been designed and administered by CABA.

Choosing IAM membership will give you access to industry leaders and professionals, continued professional development opportunities, and a vast network of other administrators that you can interact with (in both online and offline settings) on a regular basis. You will also receive a members-only discount card that will give you access to discounts across a range of restaurants, shops, and leisure locations. IAM membership is open to all people across all job roles, levels and experiences within the Administrative Management field.