Requirements

Company secretary - requirements

As a company secretary, your personal management and organisational skills will help you coordinate activity at the highest levels of the company, supporting clear communication and efficient working. Here you can find out more about what it’s like working in this role, what you could get involved in, and how you can get your first job in the area.

Know what you'll need to land a job below.

What qualifications do you need to be a company secretary?

The qualifications you’ll need will differ depending on the type and level of your secretarial position. Subjects you could consider are:

A degree isn’t always needed for company secretary roles. Having relevant experience, a professional attitude or a professional secretarial qualification can also help you start your career.

Please note this is a beta version. We'll continue to improve our suggestions here so that we show you the most relevant subjects.

Do you need a postgraduate qualification to be a company secretary?

Employers don’t usually ask for postgraduate qualifications for company secretaries, but they can be beneficial for legal or financial secretary roles in larger organisations.

Relevant postgraduate courses include degrees in:

Law
Financial law
Finance
Accounting
Foreign languages

What skills do you need to be a company secretary?

In this role your communication and organisation skills will be essential, along with time management and professionalism.

Hard skills usually include:

Corporate governance
Auditing and reporting
Business software systems
Data security and privacy
Business administration

Soft skills include:

Written and verbal communication
Eye for detail
Time management
Microsoft Office
Typing and filing
Calendar management

Do you need work experience to be a company secretary?

Relevant work experience might be valued over having a degree level qualification when applying to company secretary roles. Relevant experience could be in previous secretary roles, or in positions that allow you to demonstrate your administrative, I.T. and communication experience. Recruitment agencies can be a good way to get temporary positions and build experience when starting out.