Three island women have passed a tough test to become certified administrative professionals.

Now Tiffany Smith, Cidalia Rodrigues and Sheritta Steede will be presented at a conference on professional learning next month.

Ms Smith said: “I’d never heard about it before — but once I did the seminar last April, I decided to do it.

“It’s something to boast about on my resume and also I hadn’t done anything academic for a while.”

Ms Smith, who has worked at Hamilton-based financial services firm Bermuda Financial Network for 13 years, added: “I definitely believe it was worth it. I’ve gained so much knowledge in these few months and I’m able to use that during my day-to-day business activities.”

Ms Rodrigues said the course covered all areas of the administration assistant role, including office management, computer programs used by her company, Bacardi, and dealing with executives.

She added: “It encompasses the entire office management role and executive management.”

Ms Rodrigues, who has worked at Bacardi for 15 years, first in human resources before moving to her new role, said: “I went into the marketing area to be the executive assistant for one of the directors of marketing and I thought it would be very beneficial to have this behind me.

“It opens up more doors to other opportunities and to have a designation is a confirmation that you’re willing to put in the time and effort and that you are a professional.”

Ms Steede said: “It was valuable knowledge and that’s necessary to be successful in today’s working environment. It’s given me a more professional outlook in the office environment and more pride in my work.”

She added that, in addition to broadening her horizons in terms of study, the course had helped her land her new job at the Bermuda Airport Authority, which she started this week after temporary posts, latterly aty Bacardi.

She said: “The way I look at it, the course it makes you stand out against the next person because there are few executive assistants that have this qualification.”

Ms Steede added that the teamwork nature of the course appealed to her.

She said: “We did the class together and I couldn’t ask for better classmates and study buddies.

“It was nice to feel we supported each other and had earn other’s backs.”

Ms Smith said she found the course areas involving personal development the most useful, while Ms Rodrigues said the sections covering technical areas like computer programs and the jargon involved helpful.

Ms Smith added: “Some things I thought I was doing correctly, I was OK, but there are better ways to approach certain situations.

“Even on the customer service side, it taught me to deal with them more professionally and more professionally with my bosses as well. I exercise a lot more patience now as well. My tone is more professional, even if something is bothering me, I wouldn’t let it come through in my tone, which I did before.”

Ms Rodrigues said: “I have an in-depth knowledge of computer software now and about the programs we use. I also learnt the correct terms for certain computer software.”

The certificates will be presented at the second annual “Succeeding Professionally, Growing Personally” administrative professional learning conference at the Fairmont Southampton on April 25.

The course is organised by William Spriggs, of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, as a private venture.

Mr Spriggs said the course involved five to six months of “intense” study, with a mix of classroom-style and individual learning.

He added: “This is a personal endeavour for me. I saw a huge need in the administrative sector because there are no real qualifications for administrators.”