Europe,” she said. Sometimes the telexes did not
go through and they had to re-send the same
message.
shorthand and secretarial classes so that they
could move on to become stenographers
and secretaries. They had to learn the telex
machines, create templates of forms for use in
the office and refinery, as well as format letters.
Then, BP introduced an electronic typewriter
with a lighter touch which was easier to use,
enabling them to type faster. However, they still
had to learn to use the manual typewriter as it
was a part of the training and qualification to be a
secretary.
Another challenge was the slow telex
technology back then, taking an hour just to
send out one page of message.
The telex may also fail to go through at times,
requiring the typing pool ladies to re-send the same
message till it was confirmed to have gone out.
Typing was an important skill in the 1970s as they
had to type fast and accurately. BP provided
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