Clerks do general office work that assists professional personnel and management. Clerks work for a variety of businesses, organizations, institutions, government departments, provincial administrations, and local authorities.
There are different categories of clerks who perform a wide range of clerical duties:
- personnel clerks work with all kinds of staff matters giving advice and helping staff solve their problems
- committee clerks render supporting services to management to prepare, integrate, formulate and publish management resolutions with regard to policy and procedure
- financial clerks keep records of financial matters
- registry clerks sort incoming mail, register it and direct it to the officials concerned
Personal Requirements
- neat appearance
- accurate, systematic and orderly
- be dependable and honest
- able to concentrate
- manual dexterity work well with others
- work well under pressure
- able to work with or without supervision
- enjoy detailed routine work
- aptitude for working with figures
How to Enter
Schooling & School Subjects
- Grade 10 Certificate
- National Senior Certificate for a diploma course
What to Study
Diploma: N.Dip: for example: Public Administration, - NWU, UFH, UNISA.
Experienced senior personnel give training on the job over a period of from four to ten months.
Further study is encouraged and some employers pay tuition fees at universities of technology and private colleges.
Employment
- various businesses, organisations and institutions
- government departments
- provincial administrations and local authorities
Further Information
Any of the above potential employers
Getting Started
- practise typing and other office skills
- become as computer literate as you can
- specialise in a word processing software package if possible
- arrange to speak to different clerks about this type of work
- find vacation work as a clerk, typist or messenge
Programmes by Study Institutions
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