Professional Project Management and Higher Education
June 26, 2009 @ How to Manage a Camel - Project Management and Recruitment from mickh
Projects and project management are now seen as a destination of choice for aspiring professionals (obviously popularised on shows like the Apprentice). The higher education sector has responded with an array of courses such that it seems most institutions offer a course at either undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Qualifications, on their own, rarely lead to someone being hired as employers would rather look to a candidate’s experiences as indication of what they have to offer. These qualifications, however, are now being seen with increased regularity on the CVs of our candidates and so it was with interest that I accepted an invitation to join a group of academics on the Project Management Network for Excellence in Learning & Teaching held recently at the University of Salford.
The day began with a discussion on the aspiration by the project management community to be considered a profession in the same way as Doctors and Accountants. The consensus was that we are a long way from this and are not helped by the differing views of the various interested parties.
This lack of consensus makes it difficult for universities and colleges to respond with a consistent approach that meets the needs of a dispersed market. We should however remember that unlike training courses, higher education provides much more than just base knowledge. Demand from candidates has meant that some institutions do offer accredited courses (eg Prince 2) as part of the offer, although academic credit comes not from successful completion of the course, but rather from critical analysis or application of the method/tool. Certainly delegates expressed a desire to be able to concentrate on particular aspects of project management which in turn gives them their USP.
Only a few institutions were represented at the event and these seemed to be those that had a real passion for project management and cared about its future. Higher education, in my view, is not about quick responses but a more considered and, arguably, aspiration perspective.
In developing a professional body, history would suggest that higher education has an important part to play. The academics I spoke to seemed to have moved into teaching following earlier careers within project management so are well placed to meet the demands of employers and students. They may be a lone voice at the moment but hopefully as everyone else in the profession wakes up to the necessity of a common view rather than self-interest the knowledge, experience and enthusiasm of this network can be utilised.
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