In praise of the humble assistant

Today is Administrative Professionals' Day - a day to show your appreciation to the people who make your business or organisation tick.
More than 300 people were expected to attend the annual breakfast, organised by the Rotorua branch of the Association of Administrative Professionals of New Zealand, at the Blue Baths this morning.
Admin staff and their employers got the opportunity to network and hear from this year's guest speaker, Go 360's Belinda Bennett. It is an occasion to recognise the work done by administrators - from greeting visitors and customers on the phone or at the reception desk to organising meetings, arranging travel and ensuring suppliers and staff get paid on time.
Each year, Waiariki Institute of Technology sends about 50 people to the breakfast - and business administration online diploma tutor Vivienne Kermode is one of the event organisers.
Kermode started out as a 15-year-old office junior and worked her way through a variety of roles before applying her experience and skills to educating others.
"There is not one organisation in the world that can work without administrators. They do 1001 jobs and get very little reward."
"The trouble with admin professionals is they don't often put their own hands up for professional development and managers do not think they need it."
But changes in technology mean administration is constantly developing and staff are constantly upskilling.
Kermode created the online diploma programme with 10 students five years ago. It now has 60 students, with five graduates in 2010 and another eight to 10 people expected this year.
She says Waiariki is the only place in New Zealand offering the course as a distance learning programme.
The diploma consists of eight courses and caters to students from throughout the country.
Kermode said the majority of enrolled students were people already in the workforce and looking to upskill or women returning to work.
"I usually recommend people start with one course and see how that fits in around their work and home lives. If that goes well, they may look at doing another one the next semester or maybe two."