Yes, we can get feedback from our line manager or colleagues and this can be invaluable, especially when we are considering our management style or interpersonal skills.

But, how can we really get a handle on the technical skills we may need to develop, or understand the job roles that are best suited to our individual technical skills and strengths?

Having the confidence that you are benchmarking yourself accurately against key competences and requirements can be invaluable. It can really give you that edge when it comes to your personal development, and getting that next big role or project.

That’s where the new APM Competence Framework can really help. Previously only relevant for project management, the new framework has been extended to include programme, portfolio and PMO management, making it the tool of choice for all project professionals.

More importantly, the new framework has been written in terms of what the practitioner needs to be able to do, in other words  it is outcome focused which helps you to build your personal development plans around meaningful development solutions.

The most effective way to do this is to complete a self-assessment using resources provided by the Association for Project Management (APM):

• The 27 competences, each with a range of application and knowledge based indicators that you can assess against.
• A five-point ratings scale where you can score yourself from being “aware” to being “expert”, based on your skills or experience against each particular indicator within the competence.

These self-assessment scores help you to clearly identify the gaps, and these enable you to create a much more relevant personal development plan.  It’s a great solution to support your CPD activities too.

You and your organisation may benefit from the full package of assessment materials, provided under licence by APM. This includes 14 role profiles developed for project professionals at all levels – including programme, portfolio and PMO roles – which help create a structure for career development, enabling individuals and organisations to target the areas they need to develop.

You can use all of these tools in confidence, knowing they have been created by the largest professional body for project professionals in the UK.

More information can be found on APM’s dedicated webpages.

The post At last a genuinely helpful self-assessment tool for the profession appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

Conference chair Professor Darren Dalcher (pictured right) opened the seventh annual APM Project Management Conference by setting the scene, describing 2012 as the year project management came of age.

He told delegates at London’s Kings Place: “Adapt is the next chapter in the conversation for the profession. It is about evolving, creating alternatives and finding ways of dealing with change.”

Translating strategy into execution is the role of the project manager, he added, as he outlined the climate in which practitioners are operating. “We are under pressure to deliver much more with less, we have had to become change animals, not waiting until the crisis is over to deliver, but adapting and being ready at all times.”

He outlined the theory behind each of the conference’s three streams – flexibility, resilience and evolution – and challenged delegates to join a stream that they wouldn’t normally visit and to make at least one new connection.

Before introducing the opening speaker of the day, Darren quoted physicist Professor Stephen Hawkins, saying, intelligence is the ability to adapt.
“We want to be intelligent,” he added.

An overriding theme of the day was collaboration. In each of the three streams, speakers and chairs and delegates discussed its importance in relation to all elements of a project.

“We are about people and diversity,” said Darren. “The need for different skills and perspectives is important so we don’t get tunnel vision and get set in our ways.

“Conversations are very powerful and having different viewpoints prevents this tunnel vision.”

Mary McKinlay, APM Board member and chair of the Resilience stream, agreed. She told delegates: “Project managers are resilient because they don’t work on their own. The project manager doesn’t do it all. They use their team.

“If we want to be resilient and get our projects through, we need to rely, depend on and use our support.”

It was a sentiment echoed too by Bechtel principle vice president Bill Henry, who was presenting to delegates on delivering a breakthrough rail project. He asked: “The question is do we collaborate far and wide enough for our projects?

“We need to encourage openness and trust and in order to do that, we have to cast the net wide even to consumers and media. Be as transparent and as collaborative as you can and you will be amazed at the results.”

In the business of delivering amazing results was the opening speaker of the APM Conference, who set a very high bar in Hall One of Kings Place.

Professor Richard Wiseman (pictured left), the magician-come-psychologist-come public speaker, had some interesting theories on the importance of psychology in project management.

In an entertaining, enlightening and informative presentation, he discussed the psychology of luck and the notion of how we make our own luck by our thinking and behaviour.

For example, if you can see more opportunities in life and take them this will make you a luckier person and, in regards to projects, will make them more successful. He said: “Bad things happen in life, that is a fact, but it is about perception. If you can see something as lucky, even things that don’t seem that way, you may be able to find an opportunity in it.”

He added: “Even small changes can make a big impact. Navigate with your eyes wide open.”

Tim Harford, the ‘Undercover Economist’, addressed delegates at the end of the day with a compelling history lesson which demonstrated the importance of embracing mistakes.

“Success inevitably means failure. Embrace failure to truly understand how success works,” he said.

Through a number of historical examples he highlighted both unproductive and productive failures. He added: “Project managers need to have productive failure. Make mistakes in a good direction.”

A full round up on the 2013 APM Conference will feature in July’s issue of Project magazine.

#apmconf

Watch more interviews with the speakers from the APM Project Management Conference 2013.

The post APM Conference 2013: Adapt! [Video] appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

The APM Project Management Conference; described as “a source of inspiration, innovation and new ideas”; has been setting the professional project management agenda for seven years and has a reputation for attracting some of the world’s most influential and thought provoking speakers.

This year is no exception. The Financial Times’ award-winning journalist Tim Harford, also known as the “Undercover Economist”, will be taking to the speaker platform in the afternoon. Along with his long-running column Tim has sold millions of books worldwide including Adapt, which makes him the perfect choice to tackle the conference theme of the same name.

Kicking off the days’ proceedings will be one of Britain’s best known psychologists; Professor Richard Wiseman. Richard holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology and possesses talents he acquired as a professional magician, which will no doubt result in an intriguing and entertaining opening session.

The conference programme also features the profession’s most influential figures with the chairman of the highly publicised and debated High Speed 2 (HS2) rail network, Doug Oakervee CBE, taking to the podium.

Robert Deatker, project director of London’s most unique building –The Shard, will be joined in the speaker line-up by other senior practitioners including Rob Leslie-Carter from Arup, Bechtel’s Bill Henry and Barbara Chomicka from EC Harris. Tim Banfield, director at the National Audit Office (NAO), returns to the speaker line-up for 2013.

The APM Conference also provides insight from inspirational project professionals who have worked in the harshest environments on the planet. Karl Tuplin managed the design and construction of the Halley VI research station in one of the most inhospitable locations in the world – Antarctica.

Delegates who book a place at the APM Conference also have the opportunity to hear from another speaker who adapted to his surroundings.
Lt. Col. Martin Sturgeon initiated, designed and managed the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Afghan National Security Forces Transformation Programme in Helmand Province, for which he subsequently won the APM Programme of the Year Award in 2011 and featured in a video case study.

There is also the opportunity to take part in a fully interactive workshop on the modern management technique of gamification. Alexa Briggs from Ernst & Young, along with Guy Giffin from Prendo, will run a thoroughly enjoyable and informative online simulation that will illustrate the theory of gamification.

Two leading experts from the world of social media will be speaking in one of the three streams that will be running in parallel throughout the morning and afternoon. Jonnie Jensen, a digital coach and social media strategist, will join Yammer’s Dr. James Evans in the Evolution stream to discuss the application of social media within organisations.

Plan your day

To help plan your day take a look at the full conference programme. You can also read more about each speaker to make the decision of who you would want to hear from that little bit easier.

For the latest APM Project Management Conference news follow @APM PMQrojectMgmt on Twitter and search #apmconf. You can also use this hashtag to follow the conference on the day as well as post your own views and comments. You may even see your posts on the Twitter wall in the ground floor foyer.

The APM Project Management Conference will feature an exhibition where you can talk to numerous organisations at the forefront of the profession about how their products or services can benefit you or your business. Those exhibiting include 1st Milestone Ltd and Acumen, 20|20 Business Insight, Barbecana, CITI Limited, Deltek, EcoSys, Gower Publishing, LogiKal Projects, NEC, PM Channel, Programme Recruitment & Development, Program Framework, Projectplace Ltd, QA, University of Birmingham, Virage and Network Solutions – Maintenance Services, Network Rail.

Book your place

The conference theme of Adapt! will focus on flexibility, resilience and evolution. Topics that reflect the new benchmarks that 2012 set, the growing demands of customers and the “more for less” culture which is challenging how we think and act.

If you would like to make a corporate or group booking, please contact the APM marketing team on: 01844 276 741.

*All prices are exclusive of VAT. Cancellations will be subject to a booking charge and no refund will be made after 5pm on Thursday 30th May.

Ibis Trading Ltd, registered in England No: 6536096, is a subsidiary of Association for Project Management, which is registered as a charity in England & Wales (No: 290927). Registered Office: Ibis House, Regent Park, Summerleys Road, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9LE.

The post Last chance to book for APM Conference appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

The release of the latest figures compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) came out in the run up to National Apprenticeship Week leading experts in the industry to urge the government to prioritise vocational training.

The report reveals that vocational qualifications can impact favourably on employability. It has been predicted that 44% of graduates from the class of 2012/13 will be unemployed six months after leaving full time education compared to only 4.5% with a Level 4 vocational qualification.

The report also found those with Higher Apprenticeships can achieve an extra £150,000 in their lifetime. Although this earning potential is equal to that of a graduate the Apprentice, however, is faced with much lower financial cost.

‘Rapidly expanding’

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “We are making sure Apprenticeships are an effective path into highly paid jobs and higher level learning.

“We are rapidly expanding the number of Higher Apprenticeships. But we must do more, and later this year we plan to amend regulations to allow Apprentices to study up to post-graduate level for the first time.”

These findings demonstrate a shift in opinion amongst employers and the value they are placing on Apprentices. APM has been working closely with employers in creating over 150 Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management places. This now offers school leavers a route into the profession making project management a career of first choice allowing employers to train Apprentices to their specific business needs.

British Airways was one of the first employers to commit to the scheme along with BAE Systems and built asset consultancy EC Harris.

‘Amazing opportunity’

Since the scheme was launched at the APM Conference last June Apprentices have been provided with an ‘amazing opportunity’ to become the next generation of project professionals.

Rolls Royce took on five Apprentices in January and have committed to hiring a further 10 to 15 in September 2013.

This scheme is proving to be a cost-effective way of developing project management talent within an organisation as over £7,000 of funding is available to go towards training costs.

An additional grant of £1,500 is also available to SMEs. The National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 grants to employers with up to 1,000 employees recruiting 16 to 24 year olds.

Career of first choice 

APM worked in conjunction with Skills CFA to develop the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management, which is equivalent to the first year of a degree course.

A Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management will provide aspiring young professionals with the opportunity to develop competence, skill and knowledge-sets and make project management a career of first choice.

The aim of the programme is to create new pathways into the project management profession, improve the management of projects and embed vital project skills in organisations throughout England.

If your organisation is interested in learning more about employing Apprentices please contact APM. Alternatively, for more information about the scheme please visit the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management webpage.

The post Apprentices have better career prospects appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

During an interview at the APM Conference 2011 Tim challenged project managers not to define success “in their own terms”.

Tim Banfield joined the NAO in 1988 having previously worked in local government and was appointed director in February 1999. Tim has specialised in the examination of defence acquisition issues for almost 25 years and has led or contributed to the production of over 100 published reports.

In 2009, Tim also assumed responsibility for establishing and leading the NAO’s pan-government work on project, programme and portfolio delivery.  In the past Tim has also been responsible for NAO’s work on the Millennium Dome and foreign affairs.

Tim will be joining HS2 Ltd chairman Doug Oakervee CBE and Shard project director Robert Deatker in tackling the conference theme of Adapt! Taking place at Kings Place in London the event will reflect on 2012 as the coming of age year for project management and asks; what now? Last year saw the successful delivery of significant projects including the London 2012 Olympics, the start of tunnelling for Crossrail and completion of the TV Digital switchover programme. All with a global impact, delivered largely by British project professionals.

And so to 2013; what now? The APM Project Management Conference 2013, which has been setting the professional project management agenda for seven years, will call on the profession to adapt its thinking to address the growing expectations of society. A society with a growing intolerance to failure and that expects a world in which all projects succeed.

Adapt! will focus on flexibility, resilience and evolution. Topics that reflect the new benchmarks that 2012 set, the growing demands of customers and the “more for less” culture which is challenging how we think and act.

Book today to save

With bookings now open delegates can save up to £185 by taking advantage of the specially discounted early bird rates that are available until 31st March 2013. The programme, created again by conference chairman Professor Darren Dalcher, will build on the conference’s reputation for attracting some of the world’s most influential and thought provoking speakers including Sir Peter Gershon, Prof. Eddie Obeng, Dr. Edward Hoffman, Richard Noble OBE and Jeremy Beeton.

Building on the success of 2012, where 94% of attendees said they would look to attend in 2013 and with delegates describing the conference as “a source of inspiration, innovation and new ideas”, the conference will feature an expanded capacity exhibition.

To see why the APM Project Management Conference has a long-held reputation for agenda setting content featuring the country’s most innovative and groundbreaking projects watch interviews with speakers from last year’s conference including Virgin Galactic, London 2012, NASA and Crossrail.

If you would like to make a corporate or group booking, please contact the APM membership development team on: 01844 271 682.

*All prices are exclusive of VAT. Cancellations will be subject to a booking charge and no refund will be made after 5pm on Thursday 30th May.

Ibis Trading Ltd, registered in England No: 6536096, is a subsidiary of Association for Project Management, which is registered as a charity in England & Wales (No: 290927). Registered Office: Ibis House, Regent Park, Summerleys Road, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9LE.

The post National Audit Office director confirmed as APM Conference speaker appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

Turner and Townsend’s Robert Deatker oversaw the delivery of London’s most unique building as part of the £1.5bn London Bridge Quarter Development. Robert led the project team on all feasibility, design and construction of the 80 story Renzo Piano designed iconic tower comprising offices, luxury apartments, Shangri-La Hotel and restaurants.

With more than 25 years experience of leading a large range of major projects and programmes Robert’s impressive CV also includes commercial office developments at Canary Wharf. He led the engineering design, procurement, construction and handover of eight of the towers including the HSBC tower, Citibank tower and Clifford Chance.

Robert, interviewed last year by Project, has a thorough understanding of the development, design and delivery of major programmes.  He has a reputation for delivering and making significant savings managed through good relationships and clear direction. With an engineering background and developer experience Robert has also overseen the £10bn Al Raha Beach development in Abu Dhabi and a $2.6bn casino and hotel resort development in the Bahamas.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lBBUxVvNV0

Robert will be joining HS2 Ltd chairman Doug Oakervee CBE on the speaker podium to tackle the conference theme of Adapt! Taking place at Kings Place in London the event will reflect on 2012 as the coming of age year for project management and asks; what now? Last year saw the successful delivery of significant projects including the London 2012 Olympics, the start of tunnelling for Crossrail and completion of the TV Digital switchover programme. All with a global impact, delivered largely by British project professionals.

And so to 2013; what now? The APM Project Management Conference 2013, which has been setting the professional project management agenda for seven years, will call on the profession to adapt its thinking to address the growing expectations of society. A society with a growing intolerance to failure and that expects a world in which all projects succeed.

Adapt! will focus on flexibility, resilience and evolution. Topics that reflect the new benchmarks that 2012 set, the growing demands of customers and the “more for less” culture which is challenging how we think and act.

Book today to save

With bookings now open delegates can save up to £185 by taking advantage of the specially discounted early bird rates that are available until 31st March 2013. Along with Robert Deatker and Doug Oakervee the programme, created again by conference chairman Professor Darren Dalcher, will build on the conference’s reputation for attracting some of the world’s most influential and thought provoking speakers including Sir Peter Gershon, Prof. Eddie Obeng, Dr. Edward Hoffman, Richard Noble OBE and Jeremy Beeton.

Building on the success of 2012, where 94% of attendees said they would look to attend in 2013 and with delegates describing the conference as “a source of inspiration, innovation and new ideas”, the conference will feature an expanded capacity exhibition.

To see why the APM Project Management Conference has a long-held reputation for agenda setting content featuring the country’s most innovative and groundbreaking projects watch interviews with speakers from last year’s conference including Virgin Galactic, London 2012, NASA and Crossrail.

If you would like to make a corporate or group booking, please contact the APM membership development team on: 01844 271 682.

*All prices are exclusive of VAT. Cancellations will be subject to a booking charge and no refund will be made after 5pm on Thursday 30th May.

Ibis Trading Ltd, registered in England No: 6536096, is a subsidiary of Association for Project Management, which is registered as a charity in England & Wales (No: 290927). Registered Office: Ibis House, Regent Park, Summerleys Road, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9LE.

The post Shard project director speaking at APM Conference appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

Last month the world-leading provider of power systems and services gave a fantastic start to the careers of five budding project managers by placing them on their Higher Apprenticeship programme. In addition, Rolls-Royce have committed to hiring a further 10 to 15 Apprentices in September 2013.

There are many pockets of world-class project management practice within Rolls-Royce and this Apprenticeship is a great opportunity to bring all of this expertise together to develop a training programme that enables young people to develop solid career opportunities whilst also meeting company objectives.

Graham Schuhmacher, Rolls-Royce head of development service, said: “Rolls-Royce Higher Apprenticeship programmes give participants the opportunity to achieve degree level qualifications while also gaining essential work experience within the organisation.

“We have worked closely with APM to ensure the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management offers an exciting and comprehensive training package that also meets with our business requirements.”

APM worked in conjunction with Skills CFA to develop the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management, which is equivalent to the first year of a degree course.

The funded qualification has been created in conjunction with employers and training providers, with more than 80 organisations being actively involved in the consultation and design to ensure the qualification reflects current demand in the market.

Reduce youth unemployment

With this programme, APM and the employers will be directly contributing to the fight to reduce youth unemployment, which is currently running at over 20%. A Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management will provide aspiring young professionals with the opportunity to develop competence, skill and knowledge-sets and make project management a career of first choice.

The aim of the programme is to create new pathways into the project management profession, improve the management of projects and embed vital project skills in organisations throughout England.

If your organisation is interested in learning more about employing Apprentices please contact APM. Alternatively, for more information about the scheme please visit the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management webpage.

The post Rolls-Royce see benefit of project manager Apprentices appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

Doug Oakervee CBE (pictured) will be taking to the podium on Thursday 13th June at the award-winning Kings Place venue situated around the corner from King’s Cross station in London.

With a long and distinguished career working on major infrastructure projects Doug is in a ideal position to answer the question being asked at the APM Project Management Conference 2013; what now for project management?

The conference, called simply Adapt!, reflects on 2012 as the coming of age year for project management and asks; what now? During APM’s 40th anniversary year the profession saw the successful delivery of the London 2012 Olympics; the completion of Europe’s tallest building, the Shard; the successful testing of Europe’s largest hybrid for the world’s first 1,000mph car, Bloodhound; the start of tunnelling for Crossrail; introduction of the 4G telecommunication network in the UK; and completion of the TV Digital switchover programme. All significant projects, with a global impact, delivered largely by British project professionals.

And so to 2013; what now? The APM Project Management Conference 2013, which has been setting the professional project management agenda for 7 years, will call on the profession to adapt its thinking to address the growing expectations of society. A society that has a growing intolerance to failure and that expects a world in which all projects succeed.

Adapt! will focus on themes of flexibility, resilience and evolution. Themes that reflect the new benchmarks that 2012 set, the growing demands of customers and the “more for less” culture which is challenging how we think and act.

With these themes in mind Doug Oakervee CBE, APM Honorary Fellow and chairman of HS2 Ltd, the company set up by the Government to deliver the high speed rail network between London and the North of England, will look at the challenges of delivering this controversial mega project in the face of an uncertain economic climate, global competition and a vocal lobby protesting against its construction.

Book today to save
With bookings now open delegates can save up to £185 by taking advantage of the specially discounted early bird rates that are available until 31st March 2013. Along with Doug Oakervee the programme, created again by conference chairman Professor Darren Dalcher, will build on the conference’s reputation for attracting some of the world’s most influential and thought provoking speakers including Sir Peter Gershon, Prof. Eddie Obeng, Dr. Edward Hoffman, Richard Noble OBE and Jeremy Beeton.

Building on the success of 2012, where 94% of attendees said they would look to attend in 2013 and with delegates describing the conference as “a source of inspiration, innovation and new ideas”, the conference will feature an expanded capacity exhibition.

To see why the APM Project Management Conference has a long-held reputation for agenda setting content featuring the country’s most innovative and groundbreaking projects watch interviews with speakers from last year’s conference including Virgin Galactic, London 2012, NASA and Crossrail.

The post APM Conference 2013: HS2 chairman confirmed as speaker appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

The Association for Project Management’s (APM) flag-ship qualification, which is a part of the PMA’s learning and development, is also advocated by all those who took part in the survey, with 100 per cent recommending APM PMQ to other project management professionals.

These results were part of an assessment to determine the impact APM PMQ has had on each of Costain’s 10 key behavioural competencies.

Jeremy, who leads the 15-strong talent and training function in Costain, discovered that in order to monitor the success of the APM PMQ he would need to dig much deeper than simply looking at the pass rate. “It’s sometimes difficult to monitor how knowledge is transferred into behaviour and so we decided to take a look at what the delegates thought of the course and how the APM PMQ directly impacted on their delivery,” he says.

“We asked them to rate what impact the APM PMQ qualification had on each of our key areas,” Jeremy added. “They had three options: no impact; some impact or significant impact. I was blown away with the results.”

Customers value APM PMQ

Eighty-eight per cent of respondents said that sitting the APM PMQ qualification had some or significant impact on their customer focus. Ninety per cent said that it had some or a significant impact on their leadership skills and 100 per cent said that it has some or a significant impact on their project management knowledge.

Sixty per cent of delegates said that they agreed or strongly agreed that their customer values their APM PMQ qualification.

Other standout results included 78 per cent saying that the APM PMQ had enhanced their understanding of the customer’s requirements, while 81 per cent said it had enhanced their confidence in their project management ability.

This is further endorsement for the qualification following Heathrow stating that they wanted 100 per cent of their project managers to hold APM PMQ, while independent research has shown that it can lead to practitioners earning up to £10,000 more per year.

Excellence in project management

Costain chief executive Andrew Wyllie concludes: “Excellence in project management is key to the future success of Costain. It is imperative that we have a leading team of fully skilled, highly motivated project managers. The PMA has a key part to play in meeting this objective.”

The original objective of the PMA was to “address the people element of project management” and to build a model of project management excellence, benchmarked against world-class standards.

With the company also sponsoring 25 practitioners in attaining the APM Registered Project Professional (RPP) standard in 2012, and developing its current RPP members as mentors to provide support, it’s clear that Costain is working hard to embed success into its culture.

The company, which employs approximately 3,500 people in the UK, has around 200 project managers on its books, all of which have been offered the opportunity to go thorough Costain’s Project Management Academy. Supported by the sector skills council for construction, Construction Skills, the PMA offers structured progression and development mapped to individual candidates’ level of responsibility, from new entrants to project directors.

Since launching the Costain PMA three years ago, 56 delegates have completed the APM PMQ qualification, and a further 30 will sit it this year.

APM PMQ is part of the APM’s suite of qualifications providing support for professionals throughout their career. Accredited at IPMA Level D and SCQF Level 7, APM PMQ allows candidates to demonstrate knowledge of all elements of project management. Candidates will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how these elements interact and how their project fits into their strategic and commercial environment.

APM has developed a <a href="http://www.apm.org.uk/APM PMQ2″ target=”_self”>route to APM PMQ which recognises prior learning from the PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification. Through a shorter training course and exam this specifically designed route offers the most effective way of enhancing the professional status of PRINCE2 Practitioners.

Watch APM PMQ – The Professionals’ Perspective and hear what your peers have to say about the qualification.

This article is based on the ‘Assessing success’ feature that first appeared in the October issue of Project magazine. APM members can read all feature articles from Project magazine over recent years by accessing the Project magazine archive.

Non-members can access the Project magazine archive by subscribing to the UK’s best-read project management magazine for as little as £55 per year (10 copies), APM members automatically receive the magazine as part of their membership.

The post Costain impressed by impact of APM PMQ appeared first on Project Accelerator News.

Creating new routes into the project management profession is vital to ensure the continuous development of future practitioners. Those taking part in the scheme, created by the Association for Project Management (APM) in conjunction with Skills CFA, can develop their knowledge and competence while on an earn-as-you-learn placement with an employer that lasts approximately two years.

‘Flourish within the profession’

The very first learners to start the Apprenticeship have been impressed with the quality of the scheme. Astenne Minto, an Apprentice with Lewisham Council, feels that the training she will receive from QA Apprenticeships will help her to ‘flourish’ into a competent project professional.

Astenne said: “The training course not only met my expectations, it exceeded them. I believe that the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management will provide me with the relevant knowledge and information necessary to become a competent project manager.

“I believe that due to the excellence of the scheme and the tutor’s outstanding teaching abilities I shall become a well educated project manager in the foreseeable future and will be able to flourish within the profession.” Astenne finished by saying: “Thank you for the amazing opportunity.”

Astenne spoke at an event where the first batch of young talent, who have started Apprenticeships with CH2MHill, EC Harris, Provident Financial and British Airways, met with those responsible for investing in their future.

The event held on Monday at the offices of QA Apprenticeships, who is delivering the training for these employers, gave the budding project managers a chance to speak with APM’s chief executive Andrew Bragg and head of professional standards and knowledge Liz Wilson along with Tim Keeling, standards & qualifications manager at Skills CFA.

‘Career of first choice’

Andrew Bragg (pictured along with the Apprentices) was encouraged to see how eager the Apprentices were to start a career in project management. He said: “Creating a new route into the profession is one more way of raising the bar of project management professionalism. Making project management a career of first choice is more important than ever.

“It is pleasing to see how enthusiastic and capable these young people are. By developing not only their knowledge but experience too, this initiative will help organisations to build a skilled and competent project management workforce for the future.”

If your organisation is interested in learning more about employing Apprentices please contact APM. Alternatively, for more information about the scheme please visit the Higher Apprenticeship in Project Management webpage.

The post Apprenticeship provides ‘amazing opportunity’ appeared first on Project Accelerator News.