Clerical workers perform general office
duties for business owners. An online clerical certification program
trains participants for employment as clerks, receptionists, secretaries
or industry-specific administrative support positions like a medical
records assistant.
Overview of an Online Clerical Certificate Program
Students in an online clerical certificate programs learn skills for
communication, administrative support, customer service, accounting and
office management. Coursework in the certificate program usually can be
applied to a degree program's credit requirements, and may also fulfill
educational requirement for
administrative professional
or secretarial certification through a professional certifying body. A
background in office education is helpful, but not a prerequisite for
entry. Some programs offer a bilingual English-Spanish curriculum.
Clerical certificate programs consist of 4-5 course requirements, and
can usually be completed in under a year. All classes are offered
entirely online, but some schools offer a hybrid format combining
distance education with on-campus attendance. Some schools have open
enrollment and do not require an application for entry into their
program; students register for each course separately.
A reliable Internet connection and personal computer are necessary
for access to classes. Most offer access any time, and some courses are
offered in real-time allowing students to view a class while it is being
facilitated.
List of Common Online Courses
Online coursework in clerical certificate programs covers office
management and administration, accounting, keyboarding, communication
and technology. Professional career development may also be a portion of
the program.
Office Administration and Management Course
This course emphasizes office procedures including records
management, time management, teamwork, ethics and customer service.
Students also learn presentation and document creation, file storage and
retrieval, meeting preparation, telecommunications and travel
arrangements.
Office Communications Course
Principles in business communications and the application of them are
the focus of this class. Writing business letters, memoranda, reports
and customer service-related documents are also studied.
Keyboarding and Office Technology Course
Students of this class learn to type by touch via the Internet. Basic
features of word processing including creating tables, memos, reports
and letters are also part of the coursework.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median
annual wage of office clerks overall was $27,700 in May of 2009.
Employment is expected to grow by 12% between 2008 and 2018, and is
largely dependent on consolidation of tasks in the industry, use of
technology and office automation (
www.bls.gov).
Additional clerical training is available through both vocational
schools and colleges. Several associations offer general and
industry-specific clerical certification, including the International
Association of Administrative Professionals, International Virtual
Assistants Association and National Association of Legal Secretaries
(NALS). Clerical associates who pass an exam and meet experience
requirements can earn the designations of Certified Administrative
Professional (CAP) or Certified
Professional Secretary (CPS).
No comments:
Post a Comment