Skilla started at the Helsinki Secretariat University, founded in 1967, which trained professional secretaries for the needs of the business community. Over the decades, education, qualifications and the activities of the association have evolved to reflect changes in the world of work, and an increasing number of experts have become involved.
Competence bears a name
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Although the HSO abbreviation was left out of the name, the new look wanted to maintain the connection with the past. The logo and visual look are designed to draw inspiration from the organization's first logo, combining tradition and modernity.
From HSO to Skilla
The change of the name of the association to Skilla was historic, as the abbreviation HSO falls out of the name after fifty years. The new name is derived from the English word skill. The name speaks of the high level of professionalism in the field and the know-how that the members of the association proudly carry.
In 1967, the Helsinki Secretariat College was founded in Helsinki to train professional secretaries to meet the growing need in the business world. The first HSO secretaries were graduated in 1968. The college was initially a private educational institution run by the Endorsement Society (now the HSO Foundation). HSO Secretaries Association was founded in 1970 to serve secretaries who graduated from the Helsinki Secretariat University.
In 1980, the Helsinki Secretariat University became part of the joint application system and in 1992 the Secretariat University became part of Helsinki University of Applied Sciences Helia. After the abolition of the Secretariat University of Helsinki, the title HSO (Secretary) also remained in history, as the degree programmes in Management Assistant Work and Languages at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences (ASSI = Degree Programme for Multilingual Management Assistants and MUBBA = Degree Programme for Multilingual Management Assistants) were completed. Graduates of the programme who are members of Skilla ry can use the title tradenomi, HSO. From 2020 to 2022, the degree programme was called the Business Service Solutions and Languages Degree Programme (LIIDI), after which it was merged with tradenomics studies as the Professional Services and Languages orientation option.
At the autumn meeting of 2018, a historic decision was made that members of the association other than HSO secretaries and tradenomes, HSOs, can be accepted as members of the association.
From 2003 until 2011, the name of the association was Tradenomi HSO Secretariit ry. At the autumn meeting on 21 November 2010, Aito HSO ry was adopted as the new name of the association, and the rule change took effect on 26 March 2011.
In 2019, the organization adopted a new strategy, which also identified the organization as having a new, dynamic name. The new name was formulated together with the members and the name Skilla came from the members. An advisory vote was also held on the new name, which Skilla also won. The new name was approved due to the corona at the spring meeting moved to autumn on 5 September 2020 and the rule change entered into force on 7 October 2020. The new look was once again planned together with the members, so the name change was officially introduced on March 18, 2021.
Interested in becoming a member of Skilla?
Skilla ry is the only trade association in Finland that provides tailor-made support service specialists and acts as their trustee. Since 2024, the membership has grown from assistants to other professionals working in diverse tasks in office work and support services in various industries.
