In 2024, I highlighted a major issue on my LinkedIn with the National Careers Service’s (NCS) website. Their salary guidance for Personal Assistants was outdated and significantly undervalued the profession. At the time, they listed the average salary for a PA as between £18,000 to £35,000 per annum, a figure that simply did not reflect the reality of the role in today’s market.
After tagging the NCS in a LinkedIn post and drawing attention to the discrepancy, the post gained significant traction with 255 likes, 26 comments, and 40,978 impressions. The overwhelming response demonstrated that this was an issue many felt passionate about, and I was impressed to see that the NCS took notice.
I’m delighted to share that following my post and continued discussions with Lily Pickard and her team, the National Careers Service has updated their job descriptions and salary guidance. They have now:
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Added ‘Executive Assistant’ as a recognised job title.
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Grouped EA and PA roles with a much more relevant description including the necessary soft skills.
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Updated the salary range to £28,000 to £60,000 per annum, bringing it in line with industry standards.
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Revised the responsibilities of EAs and PAs to better reflect the strategic and high-value support these roles provide.
Additionally, a dedicated piece on the role of Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants was included in the National Careers Service Careers Bulletin in October 2024, which is distributed to frontline careers advisors across England.
Why This Matters
This is more than just a salary correction. It’s about ensuring that Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants are recognised for their contributions as strategic business partners. Too often these roles are still misunderstood as purely secretarial, when in reality they are critical to the success of executives and businesses alike.
I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to make a difference and champion the value of these roles. For those in the industry, this update means that future professionals entering the field will have clearer career pathways and expectations.
Read More
You can view the updated National Careers Service page here.
You can also see the original LinkedIn post that started this conversation here and my follow-up post here.
If you’d like to discuss how we can further elevate the EA and PA profession, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
