National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2011

124 - Office administrative assistants - general, legal and medical

1241 - Administrative assistants

Administrative assistants perform a variety of administrative duties in support of managerial and professional employers. They are employed throughout the private and public sectors.

• Illustrative example(s)

  • administrative assistant
  • executive secretary (except legal and medical)
  • office administrative assistant
  • private secretary
  • secretary (except legal and medical)
  • technical secretary

  All examples

• Exclusion(s)

  • Court reporters, medical transcriptionists and related occupations (1251)
  • Executive assistants (1222)
  • Legal administrative assistants (1242)
  • Medical administrative assistants (1243)
  • Office managers (See 1221 Administrative officers)

• Main duties

  Administrative assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

  • Prepare, key in, edit and proofread correspondence, invoices, presentations, brochures, publications, reports and related material from machine dictation and handwritten copy
  • Open and distribute incoming regular and electronic mail and other material and co-ordinate the flow of information internally and with other departments and organizations
  • Schedule and confirm appointments and meetings of employer
  • Order office supplies and maintain inventory
  • Answer telephone and electronic enquiries and relay telephone calls and messages
  • Set up and maintain manual and computerized information filing systems
  • Determine and establish office procedures
  • Greet visitors, ascertain nature of business and direct visitors to employer or appropriate person
  • Record and prepare minutes of meetings
  • Arrange travel schedules and make reservations
  • May compile data, statistics and other information to support research activities
  • May supervise and train office staff in procedures and in use of current software.
  • May organize conferences

• Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • Completion of a one- or two-year college or other program for administrative assistants or secretaries
    or
    Previous clerical experience is required.

1242 - Legal administrative assistants

Legal administrative assistants perform a variety of secretarial and administrative duties in law offices, legal departments of large firms, real estate companies, land title offices, municipal, provincial and federal courts and government.

• Illustrative example(s)

  • administrative assistant - legal
  • corporate law legal assistant
  • legal assistant
  • legal assistant - criminal law
  • legal secretary
  • litigation legal assistant
  • litigation secretary
  • real estate secretary

  All examples

• Exclusion(s)

  • By-law clerks (See 1452 Correspondence, publication and regulatory clerks)
  • Court recorders (See 1251 Court reporters, medical transcriptionists and related occupations)
  • Paralegal and related occupations (4211)

• Main duties

  Legal administrative assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

  • Prepare and key in correspondence and legal documents, such as deeds, wills, affidavits and briefs, from handwritten copy, shorthand and machine dictation using computers
  • Review and proofread documents and correspondence to ensure compliance with legal procedures and grammatical usage
  • Schedule appointments, meetings and conferences for employer
  • Set up and maintain filing systems, utilizing knowledge of legal records and procedures and frequently controlling confidential materials and documents
  • Open and distribute regular and electronic incoming mail and other material and co-ordinate the flow of information internally and with other departments or organizations
  • Determine and establish office procedures and routines
  • May supervise and train other staff in procedures and in the use of current software
  • May attend court, meetings or conferences to take notes, minutes and dictation
  • May perform other general office work as required including preparing financial statements.

• Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • Completion of a one- or two-year college or other program for secretaries or legal secretaries is usually required.

1243 - Medical administrative assistants

Medical administrative assistants perform a variety of secretarial and administrative duties in doctor's offices, hospitals, medical clinics and other medical settings.

• Illustrative example(s)

  • administrative assistant - medical
  • medical secretary
  • ward secretary

  All examples

• Exclusion(s)

  • Health information management occupations (1252)
  • Medical records clerks (See 1411 General office support workers)
  • Medical transcriptionists (See 1251 Court reporters, medical transcriptionists and related occupations)

• Main duties

  Medical secretaries perform some or all of the following duties:

  • Schedule and confirm medical appointments and receive and communicate messages for medical staff and patients
  • Enter and format electronically based medical reports and correspondence and prepare spreadsheets and documents for review
  • Interview patients in order to complete forms, documents and case histories
  • Complete insurance and other claim forms
  • Initiate and maintain confidential medical files and records
  • Prepare draft agendas for meetings and take, transcribe and distribute minutes
  • Prepare financial statements and billing
  • Establish and maintain various internal office administrative support procedures such as document tracking and filing and monthly reporting
  • Order supplies and maintain inventory
  • Determine and establish office procedures and routines
  • May supervise and train other staff in procedures and in use of current software.

• Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • Completion of a one- or two-year college program or other specialized courses for secretaries or medical secretaries is usually required.