A Message from Shirley Taylor - IYOTSA 2014

Message from Shirley Taylor

I'm very happy to share more with you today about 2014 being the International Year of the Secretary and Admin Assistant. The 2014 celebrations started in South Africa by the PAFSA (Professional Association for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants) and they are taking place throughout the world, with many countries appointing ambassadors.

The global ambassador for IYOTSA 2014 is Lucy Brazier, editor of Executive Secretary magazine in London. I am very proud to have been appointed IYOTSA ambassador in Singapore.

With the emergence of the technology-age in the mid-90s, questions were raised about whether the job of the secretary would become obsolete. This has not happened. Instead, this role has evolved to a different level, and this group of people has become more business critical than ever.

With one fifth of the world's working population working in administration, this year-long event of IYOTSA 2014 gives us a whole year to celebrate this important group of people.

Singapore's first IYOTSA event is the Asian Summit for Secretaries and Admin Professionals (ASSAP 2014), being held at the Hilton Hotel on 22 April 2014. Details can be found here. With the theme 'Celebrate the Power of Possibilities', the six international speakers at ASSAP 2014 will be celebrating the administrative profession and this important year.

Shirley Taylor, Singapore's ambassador for IYOTSA, says: "I was a secretary for nine years in the UK, and I've now been teaching and training secretaries for over 30 years. It's an honour to be the Singapore ambassador for this important year, and I'm hoping to receive much support to help me to spread the word about this important group of people."

IYOTSA's aim and vision for 2014

IYOTSA's aim is to raise the profile of this role as a profession, rather than just a job, changing the perception of the secretarial role as purely a support role, and explaining how businesses can best use those that are in this role. IYOTSA's vision for this year is to change the world for assistants everywhere so they are recognised for the work they do. We want assistants, their businesses, associations, trainers and companies who support this sector to campaign for the recognition of this role as a profession.

IYOTSA HQ in South Africa says:

"For a number of years, assistants have been doing the roles of middle management in addition to their own roles. Very often they didn't get any training for the additional tasks, or any extra money, but they did get an increase in workload of sometimes about 50% on top of what they were already doing. This is the perfect time to launch this campaign so businesses understand what the role is now. We need to celebrate this group of people who form the backbone of commerce. We want to make businesses understand that when people use assistants properly, these important people are more of a strategic business partner rather than purely a support mechanism."

IYOTSA official website

PAFSA (Professional Association for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants) is planning the official IYOTSA web portal, free webinar training, free resources, plus a monthly newsletter addressing some of the critical issues being faced by today's PAs and sharing the international events with the world.

How can PAs and Secretaries get involved?

Everyone working in an administrative role can work to promote this initiative in their workplace and in their countries.

IYOTSA on the Internet and social media

Website: www.iyotsa.com (still under construction)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iyotsa2014?fref=ts

Twitter: @IYOTSA14

Hashtags: #iyotsa14, #changingtheworld, #oneprofession:onevoice

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/IYOTSA-2014-4975569?gid=4975569&mostPopular=&trk=tyah&trkInfo=tas%3AIYOTSA%2020%2Cidx%3A1-1-1

An informative Q&A webinar with IYOTSA Global Ambassador, Lucy Brazier https://officepal.com/pd?discussionId=1258

General information on IYOTSA from PAFSA

http://www.pafsa.co.za/assets/SiteEngineManager/iyotsa%20pdfs/iyotsaglobal.pdf

FAQ on IYOTSA from PAFSA