Celebrating 200 years: Efficiency, Empowerment and Employment

The legacy of Sir Isaac Pitman

“Well-arranged time is the surest mark of a well-arranged mind”

True to his word, Sir Isaac Pitman spent his ‘well-arranged’ life working to improve the efficiency and productivity of the office workforce.  He had a robust career history as : astronomy lecturer, temperance worker, preacher, president of the vegetarian society, and most notably the creator of Pitman Shorthand.  He developed this further with the introduction of Pitman Secretarial Colleges, which evolved to become Pitman Training in the early 1990’s.

As we mark Sir Isaac Pitman’s 200th Birthday (January 4th 2013), we thought we’d take you through a look at his legacy in more detail:


Pitman Shorthand:  Pitman shorthand (http://www.pitman-training.ie/Courses/courseDetail/shorthand-fast) transformed how we record speech and thoughts in the English language, and subsequently it had a huge influence on revolutionising journalism in the 19th and 20th centuries.  Still used today, the shorthand technique has adapted and evolved over the years and now works to help thousands of businesses and individuals worldwide improve their productivity and efficiency..


Current careers using this ‘time saving tool’ include: journalists, PAs (http://www.pitman-training.ie/Courses/courseDetail/executive-pa-diploma), Minute Takers (http://www.pitman-training.ie/Courses/courseDetail/successful-meetings-and-minutes) and students in higher education, as it’s a great way to take notes when attending seminars.

Roles for Women in the Workplace:  He helped provide women with a form of empowerment through the establishment of secure office based careers such as Typists, Secretaries and Personal Assistants.  This was particularly crucial after the First World War, with many women attending the learning innovation of the time - Pitman Secretarial Colleges.  He gave women an identity and purpose, beyond that of a housewife, which has led to many modifications of the role of women within the workplace today..

Today, Pitman Training centres support males and females in their career paths – enabling many to fulfil their ambitions.

Career Aspirations:  For Sir Isaac Pitman, this ‘childhood dream’ became a reality, and a very ‘well organised’ one, as you can imagine!  Pitman considered his role in helping people gain skills and employment as “belonging not to time but eternity”, and it is this belief that has kept his legacy firmly rooted within training for employment.

What can be seen from his legacy is the role that education has to play in supporting and developing careers as well as individual’s development.  Evident to this day, Sir Isaac Pitman developed a system which has evolved over the years, but stays true to its original intentions – training is for life, personal growth, and a ‘tool’ to help you achieve your goals.

A 200 year old legacy lives on

With his place in history as an inventor and innovator, Sir Isaac Pitman’s heritage still lives on today and his impact on the working world has reached thousands of people worldwide.  His memorial plaque on the north wall of Bath Abbey reads, "His aims were steadfast, his mind original, his work prodigious, the achievement world-wide.  His life was ordered in service to God and duty to man."

We are very proud to continue to develop his legacy and to have such an amazing wealth of heritage behind us.

How has training helped you achieve your goals? – comment below with a top tip that you have taken through life or your career so far and you could be in with a chance to win €250 cash!  Email your top tip, maximum 40 words, to admin@pitman-training.ie by 31st March 2013.  The best top tip will feature on the Pitman Training website at www.pitman-training.ie, and we will contact the winner to arrange presentation of the prize in April 2013.

Since completing my Office Skills Diploma with Pitman Training last year I commenced my employment with an american IT company based in Dangan IDA Business Park, working in the Finance Department. Having this diploma helped me in gaining this position and I am very grateful  to Pitman Training for this. Since joining I have been to Atlanta in USA to continue with further training on their accounts system.

It was fantastic and a brilliant learning curve.  I would like to wish Pitman the best of success for the future and would recommend their training to anyone interested in up-skilling or just trying to get back into the workplace.


Marion – Galway.  Introduction to Office Skills Diploma

 

"I started the Pitman Training Legal Secretarial Diploma in 2011 following redundancy from my full time employment. It was an opportunity for me to change career direction and to keep me focused on the future.  The course work at the centre in Mullingar was very informative and I enjoyed completing the course at my own pace and in my own time.  Vera located work experience for me with a solicitor in Kinnegad near the end of my course and on completion of the course I was able to secure a 9 month internship as a trainee Legal Secretary at an insurance company in my home town.  That is what I am doing at present and I hope to secure a full time job at the end of my internship."

 

Emer - Pitman Legal Secretarial Diploma Graduate, Mullingar

We will be updating this blog with Cara's progress.

Blog update - 20 March 2012

I have started the Microsoft Word 2007 Module. I had never realised the amount of quick shortcuts in MS Word!  It truly has opened my eyes and indeed shortened the time required in completing various tasks. It’s so great to advance my skills through home study, I hope to sit my exam soon and look forward to gaining my first Certificate with Pitman Training!

Blog update - 4 January 2012

Click here to see a video of Regina talking about how she is getting on with her course so far!

Blog update - 22 May 2012

Pitman Training Blog – Part 1

I was amazed when I won the Pitman Training competition last year; I’ve never won anything in my life! I had just been made redundant from my job after 11 years and felt that my first course of action should be to address any gaps in my skill set. I had been looking everywhere for some help in brushing up my computer skills, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of help available to people in my situation, so the Pitman bursary really was a godsend.

Not long after I won the course ( I chose a Diploma in Business IT with Marketing & PR)  I got a new and quite demanding job, which has made it a bit difficult to find time for anything else. However, I finally started my course in December of last year! The first module was the Typaz touch typing course, which I was fairly confident about. Having been in media for 15 years, I can more or less touch type anyway, but was glad of the chance to practice some more. The fact that this module can be done online at home was brilliant and meant that I could work my way through it whenever it suited me. As a result, I finished the module in a couple of weeks and was able to go to the Belfast centre and sit the exam.  Hurray – I passed with Distinction!

Next up was the first module in my course proper: MS Word Part 1. I’ve been trying to get to the centre one night a week but, due to family circumstances, my progress has been a little slower than I would like. I’m familiar with most of the content of the module, but find that I always pick up one or two new little tricks from ‘the voice in my head’ – the Pitman audio training tape...

I’ve found that the method of training – working my way through the course book whilst listening to the audio – suits me quite well so far. Sometimes I wish that the little man would speak more quickly, but have discovered that if I’m feeling very impatient with him, I can fast-forward him in three-second increments – I wish I could do that with certain people in real life too!  I hope to sit the exam for this module in the next few weeks, and then onwards and upwards. As my current role is only a maternity cover, I’m still continuing to apply for jobs; and I feel that the Pitman Training name is a really useful one to have on my CV. It’s so recognisable and professional that prospective employers can’t help but take notice, and it shows too that I’m making the effort to try and improve myself. Hopefully, it will have the desired effect and I’ll soon be telling you about my new permanent position – in the meantime, I’ll keep you updated on my progress...!