Office Management (Campus Geel and Turnhout)

Business Translation and Interpreting

Course content
The option Business Translation and Interpreting does not lead to a specific career but puts the emphasis on the training of all-round and communicative employees, able to fulfil the needs of the business in which they will function. Your position may be that of a much appreciated translator in various company departments, you may be the editor of documents and reports, as well as the interpreter in hands-on situations.

During the courses you will build up expertise in ready-to-use foreign language skills. The excellent command of your mother tongue is the basis on which you will learn to translate correctly, assisted by the most advanced computer technology and software packages.

As a future translator you will also gain insight into the basics of marketing and the political, socio-cultural and economic aspects of the countries of your chosen languages. During the interpreting course you will pick up the knack of transferring oral messages from one language to another, which requires communicative proficiency.

Work placement
During a three-months’ work placement in the third year, you will get the opportunity to practise in real-life situations.

Job opportunities
Graduates in ‘Business Translation and Interpreting’ find their way on the job market quite quickly in various functions and professional situations with common requirements: a fluent command of three foreign languages on an advanced level, outstanding communication skills, a legal and administrative basis and a thorough knowledge of computer applications.

All kinds of sectors will be open to you: the industrial and commercial sectors, the services sector as well as the non-profit sector. You can make a career in organisations or companies that take care of their own multilingual internal and external communication. Only rarely do these companies call for external help, e.g. in cases of time pressure or for technical translations. Our graduates are working for translation services or in translation offices – often as freelancers.

Both in multinationals and in export oriented SMEs you will be able to show your proficient knowledge of economic, political and socio-cultural aspects of the countries the languages of which you have studied. Your communicative proficiency and your hands-on expertise will enable you to start a career as a freelancer, or with public relations firms and advertising agencies. Company translators and interpreters may be in charge of the oral and written communication of foreign companies, they may conduct guided tours to foreign visitors, or they represent the company with customers, on fairs, in tourist services etc.

Your communication skills in Dutch and in different foreign languages are highly appreciated, as are your social and intercultural skills.

Management Assistant

Course content
If you choose the Management Assistant option in the second year, you will be prepared for the challenging, flexible and rewarding position of personal assistant. Language proficiency and skills will have to be combined. Gradually your foreign language command in English, French, and German or Spanish will be refined through both oral and written assignments, enabling you to face the requirements of modern business.

Correspondence, telephoning and taking minutes are intensively practised. Your personal taste for trade and entrepreneurship will be sharpened in subjects like human resources management, social legislation and marketing.

The final year offers you a lot of opportunities to acquire an insight into the corporate world through guest speakers and company visits. We take advantage of every possible occasion to prepare you optimally for your future employment.

Work placement
During the final year you will get the opportunity to go on a three-months’ work placement to test your knowledge and skills in a real business environment, be it in a multinational, a SME or a public organisation.

Job opportunities
The stereotypical image of a secretary has long been abandoned. Today, managers are on the look-out for personal assistants they can rely on while continuously devising new projects and ideas. The qualifications their secretaries should live up to are: professionalism, organisational and creative talents, and a co-operative personality. In addition, external and internal communicative skills in Dutch and three foreign languages are equally indispensable to function efficiently, as well as a thorough command of various computer applications: word processing, spread sheets and presentation packages.

Both in multinationals, in SMEs and public organisations, the future profile of a secretary will evolve from junior secretary to personal assistant. Former KH Kempen-students have taken jobs as receptionists, executives at travel agencies, departmental secretaries, PR assistants, translators, junior secretaries and personal assistants.

Students who graduate in this option or in Business Translation-Interpreting may obtain the Medical Management Assistant diploma after successfully completing one additional year.

Medical Management Assistant

Course content
As a medical Management Assistant you should be able to cope with a wide range of tasks, making sure everything works fluently. The doctor or the hospital's management executive must be able to rely on the efficient execution of your tasks.

Discretion, organisational talent, punctuality and an established sense of responsibility will therefore become your personal assets during our training. But also foreign language command, flexibility, tact and communicative skills as well as a genuine interest in the medical world are indispensable to be appreciated in the fascinating medical environment. T

herefore we will take you on anatomy, pathology and first aid courses during the second year. Gradually you'll learn to find your way in medical and administrative practice by attending seminars and workshops. Subjects like First Aid, Health Care Policy, Judicial Health Care Aspects and Medical Dossier add to your future expertise.

Of course, foreign language skills will be refined further and subjects like Psychology and Hygiene complete the picture of a fully trained employee.

Work placement
During your work placement in the third year you will get the hang of real practice which will make you feel capable of dealing with any administrative aspect of your future job.

Job opportunities
The Medical Management Assistant has administrative expertise and management qualities which are related to medical knowledge and social skills. The professional profile comprises two clear components: the management assistant functions and the medical context. That’s why medical management assistants not only find jobs in the hospital and welfare sector, but also with specialists and GPs, in group practices, centres for medical expertise, industrial medicine services and the pharmaceutical sector.

The management assistant function covers a wide range of responsibilities. You’ll welcome patients and visitors either personally or by telephone, you’ll be in charge of organising meetings and manage diaries and take care of both business and medical correspondence. Furthermore, you’ll follow up files for medical expertise, which means you’ll be in charge of correspondence with solicitors, insurance companies and courts; you’ll collect fees, enter data into the computer and edit texts. Finally, you‘ll become familiar with filing and classifying documents as well as with human relations and PR.

The tasks we’ve mentioned require autonomy and creativity whereas management of information requires an insight into the structure and functioning of the organisation, combined with an indispensable and thorough knowledge of Dutch and adequate knowledge of the different foreign languages. The medical component requires a specific expertise to supply logistic assistance to the medical, paramedical and nursing aspect, e.g. with preparation and follow-up of consultations, house calls, preparation and assistance with lab analyses and medico-technical functions.

Moreover, the hospital sector requires a managerial qualification which implies responsibility and reporting on the level of co-ordination of the central medical secretariat, organisation and management of the central medical files and of medical registration. The supply of staff services, such as problem analysis, statistic data processing, surveying and social marketing is also one of the tasks of a medical secretariat.