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Testimonials

April 2012

Advanced Personal Performance Course

“Very enriching training course, learning how to be an effective person in life. Learn more about yourself and how the psychological aspect is important. I personally learned that I can achieve any goal as long as I believe in myself.”"It’s been enormously helpful in giving me a clear insight into what actions I can take to improve my working life and helped me build what I believe will be a solid foundation for continuous improvement”

Tefla Al-Ahbabi, Administrative Assistant, Aspire Academy, Qatar.

“Course exceeded expectations as I feel it has inspired me to make a real change in how I feel about myself and the potential that I have to succeed in both my personal and work life.”

'Excellent course, excellent tutor, highly recommended'

Re Executive PA Workshop

Ivan Kirby, Executive Assistant, In Touch

“Trainer delivered the course in a way that was easy to understand which made it easy to see how areas could be implemented into life at work. Trainer had a good ability to draw out of you what you knew was there all the time with regard to skills.”

Tracey Hendry, PA to Director of Public Engagement, QAA.

Mr Evans recently sponsorred his grand daughter for a full training programme at Souters

I know you like to hear of progress made by your ex-students on completion of the courses so I will tell you what has happened to my grand-daughter (Zoe) since she successfully completed the courses in Business Admin and P/A Secretary at Souters Training Centre in Ludgate Hill. She found a post with a north London estate agent; however this job did not last long because the company business was not strong enough to employ new staff. She then obtained her current post, this time with a local property development company. Zoe has found the work to be intense but satisfying. Much of her work uses in-house computer software and she makes extensive use of MS Office, especially Word and Excel. Thanks to her training with you she has coped well with the IT requirements and is able to concentrate on the needs and disciplines of the business. Zoe is enjoying herself, learning new skills, taking on new responsibilities and she is looking forward to further development of her career. It is much too early to make any claims for success, but I can say that the training courses together with your assistance in drawing up Zoe’s CV have been very beneficial.

Thank you for providing such appropriate and excellent training courses.

Zoe has read this memo and approves its content. Please feel free to use it as you wish.
Peter Evans.

We would like to congratulate Tanya on being offered a full-time (Permanent) position with a prestigious law firm within the heart of the City.

Below is an e-mail from Tanya informing our College of her great news:

From: Tanya

Sent: 06 December 2011 19:26
To: Aili
Cc: Darryl; Joan
Subject: Thank you

Hi Aili

I would like to share some great news with you and to say a huge thank you for putting me forward to FFW. I have had the most amazing time doing my work experience, everyone on the team has been very helpful and friendly and Caroline was the best mentor I could ever ask for. Also Beverly has coached me every step of the way and has been incredibly supportive.

I am happy to say that I have now been offered a full-time position within their IP Protection department.

So even though it has been intense few months for me having to jugle internship and another job, it has paid off tremendosly.

Once again a big thank you to everyone at Souters and best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to come.

With kindest regards

Tania

We received very good feedback from our students whom have completed our PA/Secretary Course, which commenced on Saturday 24th September 2011.

The following are their feedback of the Course:

'I can only thank for all your help and support...perhaps one day in the future I would like to do a legal secretary course'. This student was recommended by her colleague who had already completed the same course.

'I found that the info given are very useful in a practical way; you know how it works now'. This student was also interested in the Executive PA Course, which is follow-on course to the PA/Secretary Course and enables students to enhance their gained skills and knowledge to the advanced level of the EA.

'I am very happy with the course. It was a very good decision! I would recommend it to everyone'. She further added that she '...would like to do the next level'.

Another student was recommended to undertake this course by a friend whom had also completed this course. Her comments about this course was that '...It was very useful, I learnt a lot; I now can actually write business letters'. When asked which further courses would be of interest to her, this student replied, '...not decided yet, but definately would like to do some more'.

Further comments were given by another student who found the course to be '...good; especially useful was the document presentation part and the opportunity to practice via homework'. Upon the the completion of the course, this student furthered her training with Souters and commenced on our IT courses.

On 20th October 2011 Hanna wrote:

Dear Aili, Darryl and Joan

A quick note of thanks for all your advice, support, superb tutoring, flexibility and opportunity following my decision earlier this year to invest in vocational study to secure a career path for myself.

I found the Legal Secretary and or Legal PA Diploma interesting and informative, and have been able to confidently build on my secretarial skills and tailor these to the disciplined nature of the legal profession. I am most grateful for being able to accommodate my legal module to incorporate the areas of law that have been of most interest to me, namely commercial law and civil litigation, and enabled me to reach a much greater understanding of the law itself.

As you know, I secured a fantastic role in a Legal 500 top tier IP firm a few weeks into my diploma. Three months in and I am still pinching myself as I cannot believe my luck!

Thank you again and may I wish you and all your current (and future) students ongoing success.

Best wishes

Hanna Kopsch

Congratulations to Stef, whom recently became a father and successfully completed his Commercial Law Distance Learning Course.

On Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:04:44 -0700 (PDT), Stef Kosmo wrote:
Dear Aili good day,

Your last message noted with thanks and really appreciated.

Please note that I admit that maybe in some areas my research and
going deep through the subject was not so good however please note
that I enjoyed the course very much and I have learned a lot of things
about the commercial law.

I appreciate your assistance on the whole duration of the course and
I will definitely recommend SOUTERS to friends and colleagues.

Please note that one of the main reasons that I might not went so deep into the course was that since August 2011 I am a father and my time for studding has been reduced drastically due to the new member of my family.

Anyway I think with your help we managed to achieve a good result.

Thanks again for everything.

Really appreciated.

Please also advise if I can continue further my course/certificate
(in the future) and to upgrade it through SOUTERS to a more advanced
diploma.

Best Regards

Stef

athens / greece

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: COMMERCIAL LAW DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE - Part 4
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:40:34 +0100
From: aili@souterstraining.com
To: Stef Kosmo

Dear Stef

Thank you for your e-mail, and congratulations to you as a new father!

I am glad you enjoyed the course and had gained a lot of knowledge about Commercial Law.

Here at Souters, we pride ourselves to not only provide our students with quality teaching through our wealth of courses, but also the added benefit of personalised tutor guidance (as and when required). This enables the training process to be both enjoyable and effective for the individual student.

The fact that you had conducted wide research during your course is not a negative thing. Rather, it had enabled me to see that you had taken that extra step to gain more knowledge in order to understand the subject further. This clearly shows your positive attitude towards your course, which I had recognised had given you credit for in your previous submissions.

Well-done!

We note that you may wish to pursue further studies with us in the future, and confirm that we are happy for you to do so.

Wishing you the very best for the future and do keep in touch with us, so that we are kept updated of your progress.

Regards

Aili Chen

02072488987

Comments from Advanced Personal Performance Course 27th to 29th September 2011

“This has been an excellent course which has enabled me to deconstruct my understanding of my behaviour and its impact on others. The coach was outstanding in his level of knowledge and quality of delivery. I have been able to address issues that I have deliberately avoided in the past.” Carole Bird.

“This course is excellent for every kind of position.” Vasilika Papa, PA to CEO, Tirana International Airport, Albania

September 23 2011 e-mail received from Ran Yamaguchi who recentely attended our Secretary PA Diploma training programme:

Hi,

I just wanted to mention that I got a job! I'm working as a personal assistant at a music production company specialising in advertisement and TV background music for the BBC. Thank you so much for everything you've taught me, it has been very helpful and my boss has been very impressed with the things that I know. Already he trusts me to handle the business correspondence for the company. Thank you again for all your support.

Best Regards,
Ran.

_____________

We are pleased to receive feedback from an ex-student whom had attended our Legal Secretarial Diploma Packaged Course, regarding her career progress since leaving Souters.

In her e-mail she states that she has had ongoing success since completing the course with our College, and is now working for a top US law firm.

It is always comforting to know that our students have been able to utilize their knowledge and skills, which they have gained from our courses.

We wish her continuous success and luck for the future!

-----Original Message-----
From: claire_davis@xxxxxxxx [mailto:claire_davis@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 13 September 2011 16:02
To: admin@souters.org
Subject: Customer contact message from Souters

Content-type: text/html
Message-Id: <20110913144351.E1A7E1500005@osiris.quantumweb.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:43:51 +0100 (BST)

Customer Email Address: claire_davis@xxxxxxxx<br

Hi there

I just wanted to leave some feedback. I attended the college back in June 2006 where I undertook a legal secretarial diploma.

Since doing the course, I have had a very varied and interesting career in law which has included being a Float Secretary, a legal PA and also undertaking Paralegal duties. I am now at a very high profile US law firm and I know for a fact that having the course on my CV is what initially got me into my first legal role in 2007.

So thank you very much Souters!

Kind regards

Claire

Quote from late July 2011 bespoke Company Secretarial Administration course

Dear Darryl and Aili

I would just like to say a massive thank you for the training course that you put together specifically for my needs; in those three days I learnt all that there is to know about Companies House and associated legal documents.

Should I ever be asked about training courses, you will be highly recommended !!

Once again, many many thanks for the hard work that you put into my training course.

Kind regards

Nicki

Quote from June 2011 Secretary/PA Course feedback forms

I was very nervous but I was made very welcome and relaxed quickly

Three quotes from Executive PA Workshop 23rd June 2011; all three are existing senior PA's

QUOTE 1

“I feel the course was of a huge benefit to me. The level of information was perfect and provided in a fun way.

Would like to say a big thank you Martin for helping me find tools to use in work and also for making course so enjoyable.

Will definitely recommend”

Lisa White, PRUPIM

---------------

QUOTE 2

“A very useful, productive two days whose benefits I look forward to implementing and developing”

Executive PA, The American International University in London.

----------

QUOTE 3

“The most effective learning course I’ve ever been on”

Course attendee

Anina Cheng from the Secretary/PA programme wrote June 2011

Thank you for my PA/Secretary course, it has been a brilliant and enjoyable week.

And the good news is... a week after my course I got a fantastic new job as a Junior PA based in Green Park for a private company, I will be working closely with the CEO and his PA. This course has really helped me put my foot in the door and start my dream career. I now have skills I did not have before to put into practise as a PA and more importantly this course has given me a boost of confidence.

I have to thank Joan, she is a brilliant tutor and has given excellent advice. Thank you Darryl you have been very helpful sorting out my laptop so I can study on my I.T course at home now.

I would recommend anyone who wants to be a PA/Secretary to get their diploma and learn with Souters. They are always friendly, helpful and flexible.

I shall see you both soon as I still need to do my typing and I.T. exams.

--
Kind regards

Anina Cheng

Yasmin H.... , Surrey wrote May 2011

I want to thank you and everyone at Souters for all the support on the Secretary/PA diploma course.

This course has given me some very useful skills in my current position and gave me the confidence to search for other work at a much higher level.

I have been offered four amazing jobs as a PA, for some every established company’s working for the Managing Director’s. Unfortunately I was unable to accept any of the offers as I have been very ill and could not risk starting a new career and having to take time off in my first few months.

I have decided to leave it another 6 months before I start my search again, but I must admit that having four great job offers has given me a massive confidence boost. The companies that offered me the positions were very impressed by having Souters on my CV.

I must say that doing this course has been very rewarding for me and I am so glad I picked your college to study at. At first I thought of a study at home course but after doing my study’s with you I have no regrets and I will definitely be looking at booking an executive PA course with you in the near future.

If you asked me if I would recommend Souter’s college, I would say ‘ I would definitely recommend them’.

Thank you again and best wishes.

Michelle Woodyear e-mailed us on 9th June 2010:

I should be receiving my Diploma some time this week but just wanted to send you a brief email.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for all your help and patience throughout my training course. As a result I have obtained the Secretary/Pa Diploma which is an incredibly valuable asset.

I would also like to thank you for providing a reference to my present employer, Croydon NHS. I started my new position as an Administration and Clerical Officer for Speech and Language Therapy with Croydon PCT on Monday 7th June. I am certain that completing this course and receiving a reference from Souters was the driving force behind securing this role.

This course has enhanced my existing skills and helped me to acquire some new ones which will always be useful. I feel more confident now that I will be able to
fulfill my duties in this role or any other role I may undertake in the future.

Thank you very much for all your support.

Kind regards

Michelle Woodyear

17/05/10 Gina Abbs from the May Exectuve PA course wrote:

"The course was extremely useful. I've been putting all skills and experience into practice and above all I feel very confident. Two days course that changed my life - thank you!"

Gina Abbs, Executive PA, University College London (UCL)

05/05/10 an excerpt from an e-mail received from Mary Berezin who successfully completed the Secretary/PA April 2010 weekday course and commented on our testing system:.

“I am very proud of myself. All of the courses I have ever been on involved just sitting and listening to a lecture, then at the end of the lecture, you are given some kind of certificate and sent on your way. The Secretary/PA course definitely involved the most work, but on the other hand, it just makes it the more worthwhile”

30/01/2010 an e-mail received from Diane Scott who came to our October Saturday course.

Dear Darryl and Joan It happened! I have just been offered a job as PA to the editors office of The Sun newspaper! Part time as well so it was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much for all your help, the course was absolutely invaluable and I was able to go into the interview completely prepared and confident of my abilities. It is testament to the reputation of the course that when I went to see the agency and I mentioned Souters she said 'Oh yes, I know them very well, they are very well regarded' and put 'v.v. good' next to it on my CV. Please use this as a testimonial as I can't recommend you highly enough and want prospective students to know the difference the diploma will make to their CV

Best Wishes

Diane Scott
Student January 2010 course

PS See you soon as I still need to take all my advanced IT exams!

10/12/2009 an e-mail received from Sandra Dowson who came to us after leaving the RAF

Just a quick update on my progress so far and its all thanks to your training that I did last year.

I sat my Diploma in Secretarial/PA in July 2008 and since then I have had a really exciting time. I had my child about 8 months after i finished my Diploma (so yes I was expecting whilst I was attending the course but was not aware) and when I finished my Maternity leave I got a job as a Senior Administrator at a Secondary School in Lincolnshire. This was only a part time job until I managed to get into the NHS which was always my ambition.

I am now working within the NHS as a Bowel Cancer Screening Co-ordinator and I am loving my job. I do all the admin for the centre and all the IT and its fantastic.

This could not of been possible if I hadn't attended the training that I did at Souters.

09/11/2009 Excerpts from Briefing note by Marithé Horvat, a very senior PA at the International Trade Centre, Geneva who attended our Executive PA workshop in October 2009 with a colleague:

Course intense, well balanced and absolutely excellent.
Materials and methods of tuition were very good too .
Being outside the office in another environment allowed full concentration.
Trainers were great.
A gap analysis was conducted all throughout the two days. (Annex 1)
I asked if it would be possible to keep in contact. Answer was positive

E-mail received 31st October 2009 from Zornitza previously on a course:

Dear Joan, Darryl and Ben,

I hope you are well and busy with your precious work.

It has been a while since I finished my Secretarial Diploma Course with Souters.
All the things I have learnt have helped me not only to find a job, but also to deal with any
personal correspondence in a highly professional and presentable way.
My typing speed has increased and I am proud to be a student of Souters.

I finally got my documents sorted and I am now eligible to work as employee in the UK.
Thanks to the diplomas gained through my Secretarial course I have now an excellent offer
from Marks and Spencer PLC to work as a Workstream Administrator.

Best regards

Zornitsa Ivanova

E-mail received 12th October 2009 from Mihaela Palade recently on course:

Dear Joan,

Thank you for issuing the certificate shortly as required.

I would also like to thank you for the tutorial courses and mention it has been a real pleasure to study with you.

It is the first course I have taken in UK and I did not know what to expect from it in the beginning. Now I can truly say it has been a fulfilling experience.
It gave me confidence and knowledge to move forward in my career.

I have hardly seen teachers who are so dedicated to share all their knowledge and wish for their students to exceed their own experience.

I also attach my resume for your records.

Wishing you a long and fruitful career within Souters.

Kind regards

Mihaela Palade

E-mail received 30th September 2009 from Alison Hartnell currently on course:

"From a personal point of view, I am finding your course very valuable. It has re-confirmed what I already know or do, but it has also helped to refine my skills. You are reminding me of things I have let slip and adding to my knowledge in the process. Also, as I am still unemployed, it is helping me retain my business head and confidence and ensuring that I will "hit the ground running" as soon as an opportunity arises.(update 31/10/2009 Alison got a job)

I would definitely recommend your course to anyone.

With grateful thanks and best regards, "

Alison

E-mail received 12th August 2009 from Philomena Nana Sey

This is an opportunity to say a big Thank You to Souters. I had a job immediately after the course.. I could walk confidently to the agency who offered me a job with the local council straight away after their assessment with the typing and the interview. I am still *****************************(confidential). The company has moved me to various departments where I still shine.. At the moment two departments are fighting to keep me.

I could not have done this without Souters. Bearing in mind that I had not worked for over 9 years prior to the course last May.

Once again thank you to all especially

nana Sey

E-mail received 8th January 2009 From Alexandra Mostyn

Hello Joan,

You may not remember me seeing how you teach so many new students every few weeks.
I took your Secretarial/PA course back in April/May last year and I passed with an average mark of 65%. I was still very pleased and learnt a lot and my file with all my notes goes everywhere with me like my work bible.
After doing your course I was promoted to a Compliance position within an Insurance company but unfortunately nobody told me how extremely boring and mundane Compliance is and not fitting with my dynamic personality- I was the funny loud one at the back of the class you may recall?
So I left this job that I had been promoted into and found a new role, it incorporated PA, Reception and office Admin. When my probationary period was due to end I was asked if I wanted anything to change if I was happy in my role etc.....I said yes, I was very happy BUT! i wanted my job title to change from receptionist/pa/office admin to Office Manager.
I got it.
I am now an Office Manager for a small Insurance Company in the city and earning 26.5k a year and I couldn't have done it without your teachings and doing your course. Self improvement is the way forward and for years I sat in jobs lacking ambition but wondering why I was not happy. I know I deserve this job and I do it well. So Joan thank you for helping me get this far and I wish you and Souters' College all the best and a happy new year 2009.
Kind regards, Alexandra Mostyn.

E-mail received 19th December 2008 From Theresa Okogwa

I am sorry I haven't written to you guys in such a long time. I have been quite busy.

After my Souters Diploma and Certificates arrived, I started job hunting and ,believe me, after 2 weeks I received a phone call from one of the firms to which I had sent my CV and a speculative letter. I went for 2 different interviews with them and did very well. I resumed work almost immediately i.e. Tuesday last week (9/12/08) and I must say that I am enjoying my new role tremendously.

Its a very busy law firm and I am acting as legal secretary cum PA for the head solicitor.

Its been quite an experience and I must say a big well done to you guys at Souters.

I'd like to advise any student you might have who is worried they might not find a job on time because of the economic situation. Do not believe everything you hear, there are still some good legal secretarial roles out there despite the credit crunch.

Do take care guys and I love you.

Jacqueline Vernon E-mail received 28th October 2008: Distance Learning student

"Many thanks for the training I received at Souters. I temped with Brook Street as a Conveyancing secretary in Farringdon and Joan, you were right on the ball; I hit the road running. The course detail was adequate preparation for working with a solicitor that had a backlog of work...................

Thanks again for facilitating my accelerated study period, I have proved that my time under you instruction was absolutely fruitful."