Office Administration and Customer Care

The Specialism consists of four modules

1.
2.
3.
4.

Retailing and Selling

Office Assistant
Office Practice
Retailing and the Customer

There is no prescribed sequence but it is recommended that module 2 Office Assistant

be taken before module 3-Office Practice. There is also one task to be completed and a
final examination, consisting of a practical and written examination.
Modules
Each module has a value of one credit per session. Two conditions have to be fulfilled
to obtain this credit
i.
ii.

Modules and key Assignments have to be satisfactorily completed

Students have to have 90% attendance at the OACC class for that session.

N.B. Each teacher should keep his/her own attendance roll. All four key assignments
must be completed (see module descriptor for this course)

Module 1: Retailing and Selling

Students are interested in retailing. They are big consumers of certain goods and
services. They have some sales experience themselves from part-time jobs. This module
provides opportunities for outside visits and for visitors to the classroom. Students can
link this modules to work experience and to their enterprise modules.
Module 2: Office Assistant
Students like the idea of office work. They learn to use, care for and respect office
equipment. They should have access to an office, ideally and LCA office, which could be
used both by the co-ordinator and the OACC teacher. Again students should like this
module with work experience
Module 3: Office Practice
This follows on from module 2 and the student deals with basic office skills and routine
office tasks. Personal grooming is stressed and this provides an opportunity for a
classroom visitor. Students are educated regarding health and Safety in the workplace.
This module could integrate with such areas as work experience, maths IT and other
specialisms.

Module 4: Retailing and the Customer

This module follows on from Retailing and Selling. It builds on the students experience
of being a customer and of caring for customers. It makes the students aware of the
rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees. There is scope for crosscurricular links with Social Education, maths and work experience
Strategies
Teachers should be mindful of the key underlying principles of LCA and endeavour to
apply these when teaching OACC.
Integration: Suggestions for integration with other subjects are given in the module
descriptor. Informal meetings with teacher of these subjects can be very worthwhile in
helping to draw up a plan for integrated teaching. The student task also facilitates
integration.
Team Work: regular meetings are essential. Through these teachers can support and
help each other. An occasional lunch or a working lunch (food provided) can help to
build a team spirit.
Basic Skills: this is every teachers responsibility. Attention should be paid to numeracy
as well as literacy. This applies to the module Office Practice. Word banks are
particularly useful. If possible have a dictionary in the classroom. When students are
doing exercises and writing up journals/diaries for personal reflection teachers should
always address literacy issues.
Active teaching methodologies: These are central to the LCA programme and to the
teaching of OACC. The more active and practical the learning process is, the more
enjoyable it is for both student and teacher. Visits, visitors, group work, brainstorming
and presentations are among the active methodologies that can be used when teaching
OACC.
Reflection: this again is an integral part of the LCA programme and is every teachers
responsibility. Teachers can help students by asking questions at the beginning of
class/module/day. Students can reflect and answer at the end. Students should be
encouraged to write a sentence or two into a journal at the end of a class reflecting on
how that class or topic went for them.
Links with the community: OACC cannot be taught in isolation. We need the broader
community for visits, work experience, surveys etc. Since this also applies to other LCA
courses (subjects) the co-ordinator could contact prospective employers, retailers,
wholesalers, offices, garages, chamber of commerce etc. These should be informed about
the LCA programme and told how they could be of assistance. This should be done at the

beginning of the school year and in this way a database of community links could be
established.

Learning Outcomes
Students gain confidence
They interact and learn from each other
They gain an understanding of technical terms.
Safety issues re discussed and understood
The learn the responsible use of machines, the competent use of the telephone, fax
etc
They develop letter writing skills and become aware of various items and types of
stationery and their appropriate uses
They study receptionist duties
They learn the procedure for dealing with money cash and cards, banking
procedures and record keeping
They study customer care and service and learn how to deal with complaints.
They gain knowledge of the workplace rights and responsibilities of employers
and employees, health and safety, contracts of employment and industrial
relations.
The module descriptor includes the full range of learning outcomes for each module
It is advisable to complete all learning outcomes as suggested. It is possible to do this if
you have class periods per week. At least one double is essential to facilitate visits,
visors, practical work etc
Detail
OACC is not about learning off lists of requirements or advantages and disadvantages.
Students should be encouraged to learn by doing and also by discussion. A great amount
of detail is not required in any area.
Standard

Studying past examination papers the questions asked and the spaces provided for
answers, will be helpful in determining the standard required.
Task
Students taking Office Administration as a Specialism will have to do a task either in year
one or two. Talk to your co-ordinator about the task schedule in your school. You will
find information about Task on this website
Combining Tasks and Key Assignments
Work done on a key assignment can be used as part of a task and also information
gathered while doing a task can be used for a key assignment. For example, the key
assignment on Health and Safety could be used in a task relating to the office.
OACC may also be taken as an elective. There are no restrictions on which modules can
be taken. If modules are studied as an elective, the relevant key assignments must be
completed. The modules have a value of two credits per module. There is no task or
final examination or practical for an elective.