It’s rare that any two projects in any one company are the same which makes a career in project management both varied and rewarding. As the world of business becomes more competitive, senior directors and CEO’s are looking for people who can motivate, inspire and lead a team to get first-class results.
Is a Diploma of Project Management worth it?
There’s been an increasing demand for project managers which means that this career choice is rewarded with an above average salary. It’s now ranked as one of the fastest growing professions in the world. Bonuses are often given out to those who meet deadlines and deliver a project on time.
Large scale projects require an effective leader who can motivate people and delegate the work to those who concentrate on the details. A good project manager is expected to run many activities at any one time and while they may strive for perfection, they need to be realistic about their expectations. Stuart Barrett who trains and guides those on business related courses at TrainSmart Australia says project managers need to possess many attributes.
“Project managers must have excellent communication skills. They can spend as much as 90% of their time communicating with groups and individuals, from assigning tasks to team members to providing status updates. This is a key skill and will amplify the effectiveness of any group or team and will increase the likelihood of a project meeting or exceeding expectations set down by stakeholders.”
In the past, employees who excelled well in a business role progressed onto becoming a project manager. Nowadays people have become more aware of the benefits of completing a project management qualification so they can acquire skills to produce successful outcomes.
What do you learn?
A course in project management online will enable you to learn how to prioritise workload to achieve results when you are faced with time and budget constraints. The key to being a good project manager is recognising possible risk and being able to delegate tasks. The course incorporates units on how to manage meetings and to ensure quality control reaches certain standards. The qualification is recognised throughout Australia as Stuart Barrett explains.
“This Diploma of Project Management has been developed by industry professionals and endorsed by industry bodies and will ensure you are equipped with the practical knowledge to ‘hit the ground running’ in small, medium or large organisations across all industry sectors. Experience alone is no longer enough, potential employers are looking for proof of vocational competency via a formal current qualification.”
Government funding available for project management
The government is keen to see more people train in project management and is offering incentives to encourage more people to enter this field. A Vet Student Loan is available to those who want to complete the Diploma of Project Management through TrainSmart Australia. This course is nationally accredited and recognised throughout the country and the units of study match today’s industry requirements. A VET Student Loan means you can study now with minimal financial outlay. You can tap into $5,000 worth of funding which covers a large part of the cost of the course, and this loan needs to be paid back when you are earning above a certain threshold.
Job opportunities
There’s currently a shortage of skilled project managers. Large-scale, complex projects are becoming the norm, and project managers are wanted more than ever before. New compliance and health and safety regulations have also contributed to the demand for a project manager. One of the main advantages of becoming a project manager is that your skills remain the same across different industries which means you can move between jobs fairly easily. One estimate suggests that more than 40 million managers will be needed globally by 2020 and 375,000 of these will be in Australia. Industries singled out as having a growing demand for project managers include energy, healthcare, construction and information technology. Stuart Barrett says as well as having a rewarding salary, a career in project management means you’ll be making a real difference and helping a company to be more efficient and successful.
“In the discipline of project management, anything which can be done to generate more outcome for less input is considered to be a good thing. Organisations have to continuously change in order to survive. By definition, projects are temporary, unique and complex and when they are managed properly, profits increase and businesses grow which means project managers will always be in demand.”
