Ex-minister tasks secretarial staff on skill acquisition, capacity building

 

A former Minister of Works, Sen. Adeseye Ogunlewe, has urged the secretarial staff to explore new skills and technologies of practice to remain relevant in the profession.

Ogunlewe, the Fuwajoye of Ikorodu Kingdom, gave the advice at the 32nd Annual National Conference and Workshop of the Association of Professional Secretarial Staff of Nigeria (APSSON) on Monday in Lagos.

The conference has the theme: “Emerging Roles of Secretarial Profession in Building New Competencies and Capabilities.”

The conference featured the unveiling of the association’s Charter, which was done by Ogunlewe.

Ogunlewe, also Father of the Day at the event, said in-depth knowledge of new skills, developments and technologies was crucial for competent practice of secretarial administration.

He, therefore, urged members of the association to always strive to acquire new knowledge and skills in the profession.

Ogunlewe also urged them to uphold the principles and integrity of the profession in their services to the society.

According to him, secretaries are the key components of any organisation, stressing that they are the custodian of the confidential documents and secrets of any organisation.

“A competent secretary should be prudent in behaviour and must be confidential because all the relevant information about the organisation is under his/ her custody.

“The secretarial practice is evolving with the new technologies and developments of the digital world.

“With these developments, it is important as secretaries that you should be abreast of daily developments in the secretarial terrain otherwise, you would be on the disadvantaged side.

“As a secretarial professional, I enjoin you to make the most of this profession not just for respectability and career progression but also as agents of change, actively contributing to the development of our nation,” Ogunlewe said.

The Chief Medical Director, Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said there was need the for the secretaries to undergo training and retraining programmes to enhance their capabilities in the profession.

Owoeye, the Chief host of the event, said that success of secretarial practice was built on training, education, capacity development and skill acquisition.

“The importance of training and retraining cannot be over emphasised.

“Secretarial practice being a vital instrument of organisation’s management, the practitioners should go for training from time to to be able to deliver effectively,” Owoeye said.

Prof. Femi Ademiluyi, Dept. of Business and Entrepreneurship Education, Kwara State, said that the secretarial practice had been transformed as most offices were now automated and digitalised.

Ahmed, who was the Keynote presenter at the event, stressed that administrative practitioners should continuously educate themselves, acquire new skills and be up-to-date with new developments.

According to him, education is key, saying that secretarial staff should learn on daily basis.

“Be the drivers of the profession and always act diligently in accordance with rules of information technology because formation is critical to effective management of any organisation.

“I want to challenge you not to rest on your laurels but to continue to strive towards even loftier goals,” he said.

Earlier, the National President of the association, Mr Nasiru Yaro, said that the conference was an opportunity for members across the country to come together to network and be abreast with new developments of the profession.

Yaro urged the members to always act in consonance with the code of conduct of the profession, stressing that if the code was observed in the breach, there were sanctions which would be melted out in line with the Institute’s code of conduct and ethics for members.

He extolled the significance of the association’s Charter, which he said had qualified it as the Chartered Institute of Professional Secretarial Staff of Nigeria (CIPSSON).

“You should exhibit professional expertise in your work as a secretarial staff. The depth of your technical capacity confers greater respect and value on the Institute by all those that deal with you.

“And you are expected to attend our various capacity enhancement programmes for your professional development and relevance,” he said.

Photo caption:

L-R: The National President of APSSON, Mr Nasiru Yaro and the Fuwajoye of Ikorodu Kingdom, Sen. Adeseye Ogunlewe unveiling Charter of the association at APSSON conference in Lagos.