Thought Leadership
Should company secretary training be practical or academic?
Should company secretary training be practical or academic? It’s important to ask yourself that question as it relates to you and your career.
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What’s happened?
Choosing the right company secretary training doesn’t have obvious answers from the get-go, and it’s certainly not about pitting qualifications against each other because one is “all theory, no practice” and the other is the opposite.
Ultimately, company secretaries need legal and governance foundations, and the only thing they have to decide is how much breadth, academic level and examination depth are proportionate to the learner’s objective.
To illustrate a practical comparison, consider two qualifications below, both of which are available in the UK and Ireland.
The first is the Qualifying Programme delivered by the Charitered Governance Institute of the UK and Ireland (CGIUKI). The second is the Diploma in Company Secretary issued by The Corporate Governance Institute (TCGI).
What does the CGIUKI pathway emphasise?
CGIUKI’s Qualifying Programme is a broad professional education route. The company advertises it – and the “chartered status” it leads to – as “the benchmark for company secretaries and governance professionals.”
It’s split into two parts. Part One develops technical knowledge in law, compliance, finance and governance at the equivalent of Level 6 on the European Qualifications Framework.
Part Two develops postgraduate-level understanding of strategy, risk and boardroom dynamics. Each module requires around 200 hours and is assessed by a three-hour examination.
That structure suits learners who want deep breadth, formal progression and a route towards chartered status. It is particularly relevant where employers expect CGIUKI qualification or where the learner wants to operate at senior level in complex organisations.
What does TCGI’s DipCoSec emphasise?
DipCoSec from TCGI is a focused programme, equivalent to Level 5 on the EQF, with ten modules covering the role of the company secretary in detail. It also covers regulatory frameworks, compliance, boards, board committees, dynamics and support, finance, risk and internal control, stakeholders, and emerging trends. There’s a lot under one roof.
In keeping with the broader scope and more international reach, TCGI’s qualification is delivered online, through self-paced learning. Its two graded assessments use 75 multiple-choice-style questions each, with 90 minutes allowed for each assessment. The course is designed with working professionals in mind, allowing them to understand essential governance knowledge rather than reproduce the full CGIUKI curriculum.
What does practical capability look like?
Understanding this can be key to deciding what kind of qualification you want. Here are some core principles around practical capability for company secretaries:
- You’re able to prepare clear agendas, board packs, and meeting minutes.
- You’re able to maintain statutory registers and compliance calendars.
- You can support directors in their work and have a solid understanding of finance and risk to be able to meet these requirements.
- You know how to recognise when your board needs specialist legal, accounting or regulatory advice.
Some of these skills are perfected through experience, but that shouldn’t take away from the benefits that a well-designed course can bring. Above all, the structure of such a course will help you understand the language, routines, risks and judgement points of the role.
Which balance should you choose?
Across TCGI’s work with directors and governance professionals, we see many directors under pressure to meet high standards on paper as well as in practice. As a result, there is strong demand for learning that can be used immediately.
That does not, and will never, make academic depth unimportant. What it does mean is that any learner should connect their desired depth with purpose. I.e. what you want to achieve will be an indication as to how you should achieve it.
For example, the broader CGIUKI route might be for you if the formal professional pathway and Level 7 study are part of the objective. On the other hand, TCGI’s DipCoSec might be for you if you want a focused, university-accredited introduction to the practical and governance dimensions of company-secretarial work.
Explore the Diploma in Company Secretary
View the DipCoSec/CCSP course, download the brochure, book a consultation or enrol online.
Professional note: Practical capability develops through education, supervised experience, judgement and continuing professional development. A diploma alone does not guarantee competence for every appointment.
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