Project Management Training – How Important are Qualifications?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I have often wondered just how important project management qualifications are in the pursuit of project management skills and knowledge and in support of careers in project management.
Over the last four years or so I have seen hundreds of experienced professionals attend ‘fast track’ Diploma of Project Management programs from which I have reviewed very positive course evaluations from satisfied participants yet, the number of participants who take the next step and apply for assessment and the qualification is markedly less than those who complete the program and lower than the average over all Diploma programs which makes me wonder why so many people elect to attend these Diploma programs and yet not receive the qualification – especially when there are so many non-accredited programs available.
Why don’t candidates who have no interest in attaining the qualification choose to attend non-accredited courses instead?
Is it perhaps a way of determining or selecting for program quality or at the least narrowing the field when faced with a multitude of courses and providers? I don’t know but, perhaps project managers and their staff are aware that the Australian Diploma of Project Management (BSB07) is closely aligned to the project management body of knowledge or PMBOK® and endorsed by the Australian Institute for Project Management (AIPM). After all the standards developed for the Diploma were sponsored by the AIPM and developed by industry specialists for the industry. So, I guess this knowledge may provide participants with some confidence that the Diploma program will achieve the outcomes they need in order to become skilled in PM.
We can safely argue that the Diploma of Project Management Program gives participants the skills and knowledge they need to manage their projects successfully therefore, if that’s about the only outcome this cohort is after there is no need for them to complete an assessment process to have the Diploma awarded. They simply choose the Diploma program because they know it will deliver the required outcomes – the issues of also receiving a qualification is possibly irrelevant!
There is, of course a whole other discussion & debate to be had around assessment that is way passed my intent today, so, I will refrain from commenting – my issue is really around the value (or lack thereof) that project manager’s place on the Project Management diploma qualification and why many don’t make the effort to get it even after attending the training and, presumably then implementing this new knowledge and skill in their workplace and on their projects. I know the Diploma of PM is widely recognised across Australian workplaces and within the industry and I wonder what incentive those course participants who elect not to pursue assessment need to do so?
What are your thoughts on this most perplexing of issues – surely PM’s like any other professionals in the marketplace need more than anecdotal evidence or their abilities or, does their work provide all the testimony they require when job hunting. Let me know what you think.
Helen Sabell
1 The statistics supporting this blog have come from PM programs run from 2005-2008 inclusive and from CAL & PMDI clients 2007-2009.
2 Figures taken from Australian VET statistics and CAL/PMDI participant analysis