Project Materials

CAUSES OF OCCUPATIONAL CHANGE IN SECRETARIAL PROFESSION

ABSTRACT

Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu as a case study of occupational change in the secretarial profession is the subject of the research. Finding out what drives occupational change, how it affects secretaries in corporate settings, and what impact it has on the secretarial profession as a whole was the driving force behind this research.

The researchers combed through relevant literature to find answers to the questions of what occupational changes are, what motivates them, and how to implement them in the secretarial profession. Among the factors that the researchers identified as contributing to career changes are factors such as age, insufficient training, low prestige, and insecure job security. Additionally, the secretarial profession is facing some negative pressures from occupational changes, which have substantial impacts on secretary career path planning. It was suggested by the researchers that secretaries should be provided with sufficient training and encouraged to be happy in their jobs. A well-constituted secretarial profession would be more appealing to potential candidates.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study 

One who does mundane, administrative, or personal work for someone higher up the corporate ladder is called a secretary. Executives rely on secretaries to handle administrative tasks like typing, data entry, and scheduling.

An organization’s secretaries are often its most valuable and dedicated employees. To a greater extent than anybody else, its administrative operations. Although males had held the position of secretary from the renaissance era until the late 19th century, when typewriters were introduced

more and more women started to work in the field after World War I. The position of secretary, however, has traditionally been held by women. Less males are going into secretarial work by the 1930s.

In 1942, the National Secretaries Association was established with the aim of elevating secretaries’ level of professionalism. As technology continues to expand to office across the professionals was greatly evolved office automation and organizational structure had led secretaries to assume a wider range of near responsibilities.

One researches for management and professional staff. Many secretaries now give training are orientation for new personnel, conduct research on the internet, and run and troubleshoot new office technologies.

In the midst of these, however, their responsibilities have remained much the same, although changed from manual to electronic performing and co-ordinating an office’s administrative activities, storing, retrieving and integrating information for dissemination to staff and client.

Secretaries are responsible for a variety of administration and clerical responsibilities necessary to run an organization and maintain paper and electronic files, manage projects, do research and offer information on the telephone, postal and e-mail. They also may prepare correspondence and make trip arranging.

With the above unique functions played by secretaries, it is sorrowful sighted that occupation change which Ozigi (1989) defined as picking up job in another discipline or field of endeavour outside what one has been working for some years has affected the secretarial profession, at present where, some secretaries who have been properly trained vehemently take up a job in another field of specialization abandon in the secretarial jobs

this idea of leaving one’s occupation or profession to another can also be observed but it is more pronounced in the secretarial profession. This work is therefore meant to find out why people trained as secretary take up professions outside the secretarial profession.

Statement Of The Problem

It is highly startling to notice the rate at which some skilled and experienced secretaries abandon secretarial positions to other fields of specialization. Some of them after being trained as professional secretaries pick up careers in other discrepancies. This has resulted to a case of brain-drain in the profession.

Despite the member of graduate secretaries being turned by our numerous tertiary institutions, the labour market is still lacking qualified and competent secretaries to perform secretarial duties this is majorly because these graduated secretaries prefer to work as managers, salesmen and women and marketers instead of secretaries.

The point is why do these secretaries who are properly qualified in the trade opt to work as other personnel instead of as secretaries?
This is the reason for this investigation.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The purpose or objective of the study is consequently to find out:

(a) The causes of occupational transitions.

(a) Effects of occupational changes on secretarial profession.

(c) Effects of occupational transformation on the secretaries in corporate organization.

Scope of the Study

The Study was carried out to cover Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu. The study focusses exclusively on the reason of occupational changes in secretarial profession and the category of the staff are the junior and senior staff in secretarial studies.

Research Questions

The researcher was guided in their work by the following research questions.

(a) In the secretarial profession, what factors lead to job changes?

(a) How has the changing nature of work affected secretarial work?

(c) How does a change in occupation affect secretaries in a corporate setting?

The significance Of The Study

Secretaries, individuals interested in secretarial work as a career, administrators, researchers, the general public, and the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) will all find this study very useful.

Secretaries will learn from the study to value their profession for its status and career opportunities. If you’re reading this and want to know why secretarial work is so rewarding, I hope you’ll keep going after all these years of school.

Reading this project will make the administrators of every organisation change their negative attitude and appreciate their secretaries’ efforts. The public’s perception of secretarial work will improve, which will be great news for individuals considering a career change.

The honour of promoting secretarial careers to students at IMT (Institute of Management and Technology) will fall on their shoulders. Moreover, this study will be useful for future related research.