Why I Created the Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA®

Richard Arnott
2 days ago
4 min read

When we first started our training business, our focus was not on Executive Assistants at all. Our core work was delivering leadership, procurement, and project management programmes. That remains true today.

Like many training providers, we worked primarily through marketing partners whose job was simple: get “bums on seats.” They did this through a combination of cold calling organisations and following up on warm leads.

But something interesting kept happening.

When these marketing teams called companies, the phone was rarely answered by the executive they were trying to reach. Instead, it was usually answered by the Executive Assistant.

And the feedback was almost always the same.

“All very good… but why are there no courses for us?”

A Request That Started Everything

Eventually, one of our marketing partners approached us directly.

They asked whether we could develop a training programme specifically for Executive Assistants. I agreed to look into it.

At first glance, the market appeared saturated. There were hundreds—if not thousands—of courses aimed at Executive Assistants.

But as I examined them more closely, I noticed something very interesting.

Almost without exception, every course was being delivered by an Executive Assistant (often former or retired) to Executive Assistants.

And the focus of those programmes was largely the same:

Administrative tasks
Organisational techniques
Personal effectiveness
Motivation and what I tend to call the “rah-rah” element

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of that. But it missed something fundamental.

The Role Was Changing

At the time, the aftermath of the global financial crisis was still being felt. The credit crunch had significantly reduced middle management layers in many organisations.

As a result, executives increasingly needed support that went beyond administration.

Executive Assistants were being asked to step up.

They were:

Managing projects
Coordinating stakeholders
Supporting strategy execution
Acting as a bridge between leadership and the wider organisation

Yet the training available to them had not evolved to reflect this reality.

That is when we realised there was a gap in the market.

A Different Approach

We decided to develop something completely different.

Instead of a course about administration, we created a programme focused on the skills needed to become an effective strategic support partner to senior executives.

And crucially, it would be executive-led training designed specifically for Executive Assistants.

The idea was simple: if Executive Assistants are supporting leaders, then understanding leadership, strategy, finance, project governance, negotiation, and organisational dynamics becomes incredibly valuable.

Looking back, this decision proved remarkably prescient. At the time, we had no idea that artificial intelligence would soon begin removing many routine administrative tasks. But as AI continues to automate traditional admin work, the need for strategic capability in the EA role has only become more important.

Building Global Partnerships

Very early in our journey we formed a partnership with Lucy Brazier OBE and her publication, Executive Support Magazine.

Lucy became one of our strongest global advocates, and she remains so to this day. Her support helped introduce the programme to the international EA community.

We also work closely with Innoverto FZE LLC in Dubai, along with several country-specific partners around the world.

These partnerships have been instrumental in helping us reach Executive Assistants across multiple regions and industries.

Our Commitment to Independent Certification

One of our core principles has always been independent certification.

This is something anyone considering a professional training course should always check carefully. If the certificate is simply issued by the same organisation delivering the training, then it is essentially just a piece of paper created by the provider.

Our view has always been clear:

If a course is self-certified by the provider, you should walk away.

Instead, we pursued recognised independent accreditation. Today the programme is:

Certified by Qualifi, a recognised UK awarding body
Recognised by the Institute of Administrative Management (IAM), the world’s oldest professional body for Executive Assistants
Accredited by the CPD Standards Office

This was a deliberate decision from the beginning. We wanted the qualification to carry real credibility.

A Global Community

What began as an experiment has grown into something far bigger than we ever anticipated.

Today the Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA® has:

Over 4,000 alumni worldwide
Been delivered on every habitable continent
Been taught online and in-person globally
Been adopted by a wide range of large and well-known organisations for in-company training

Most importantly, the feedback from delegates has been extraordinary.

ACEA® consistently scores 4.9 out of 5.0 from participants.

That level of satisfaction comes from Executive Assistants who recognise that the programme was designed with a very clear purpose: helping them evolve into true strategic partners to the executives they support.

Looking Ahead

Creating ACEA® has been an extraordinary journey.

What started as a simple response to a repeated question—“Why are there no courses for us?”—has grown into a global programme supporting thousands of professionals.

We remain deeply committed to:

Supporting the Executive Assistant profession
Continuing to evolve the programme as the role evolves
Working closely with our global partners and the EA community

The role of the Executive Assistant is changing rapidly.

And we believe the profession deserves training that reflects the strategic importance of the role today—and even more so in the future. ===================

About the Author: Richard Arnott, BA, FInstAM, FIToL, is a Director of BMTG (UK) Ltd, and the author and lead presenter of the ground-breaking, globally recognised Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA® program. Richard also sits on the editorial board of Lucy Brazier OBE's Executive Support Magazine.