April is the time of year we formally recognize and thank the people who keep our office running smoothly. We celebrate the problem solvers, gatekeepers, cheerleaders and all around office heroes. It’s time to share our appreciation for all they do and highlight the value they bring to our organization.
The last week in April is Administrative Professionals Week, sponsored by The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). IAAP supports administrative professionals in many ways including conducting a yearly survey to better understand the modern office administrator. Here are 5 interesting facts about administrative professionals you likely didn’t know:
The Official Recognition Day began in 1952 as National Secretaries Day and renamed to Administrative Professionals Day in 2000. The new name better describes the expanding role of the modern office administrator.
The first Certified Professional Secretary examination was administered in August 1951. There were 281 candidates at 15 examination centers. There are now over 250 examination centers worldwide.
More than 22 million secretaries/administrative professionals are part of the US workforce.
Administrative professionals are responsible for making important purchasing decisions for their organizations – which on average are worth up to $20,000 a year.
Overwhelmingly their career goals are to remain in the administrative professional field – which is great news because we don’t know what we’d do without them.
The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) is a 501(c)(6) registered not-for-profit professional association for office professionals. IAAP strives to be the premier network and resource for the administrative profession. We ensure individuals working in office and administrative professions have the opportunity to connect, learn, lead and excel.