What makes a successful project manager is a combination of their academic abilities, experience and skills, both “soft” and “hard” skills i.e. communication skills and motivational abilities in addition to knowledge and understanding of project management tools and techniques or any technical skills that may be required in certain project management (PM) roles such as IT or construction.
A successful Project Manager (PM) would ideally have well-recognized academic qualifications, not necessarily a project management degree as they are still fairly rare at large, but almost certainly some good educational background.
So, you could be a perfectly successful project manager without any specific PM training or qualifications – or could you?
What professional PM training provides is re-enforcement of the methods that work – that has been tried and tested over huge numbers of projects in all sorts of businesses and industries.
The recognised project management methodologies are a catalogue of best practices but also of the soft skills and attitudes that a PM requires.
So, whether you opt for a PMI (Project Management Institute, USA) foundation certification such as the CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) or the more advanced certification PMP (Project Management Professional).
A PM training will ensure you are managing your projects to the best of your ability. It will also ensure you are continuing to develop as a professional and not stagnating by doing things the way you have always done without a standard for benchmark.
Yes, of course, real-world experience is important, and much can be learnt from real-world successes and mistakes. The experience gained on a range of projects and especially on complex projects can never be taught, but relevant training that explores case-studies goes a long way to providing practical insights likewise, is obtaining professional PM qualification which is ultimately beneficial to developing and progressing in a career as a successful project manager.
Now, that’s not to say a project manager with accreditation such as the PMP qualification is more successful at leading and directing projects (because that measure depends on so many other factors such as individual traits, the industry type, complexity of projects etc), but the qualification is an indication that you take your professional development seriously and provides formal recognition of that fact.
So, a professional project management qualification can increase your worth in the jobs market and improve your career prospects.
Thus, quite simply put, it is worth studying for PM Qualifications – even if you have to fund the training yourself. Fortunately, there are plenty of options classroom courses that would suit your convenience.
Take a look at the upcoming classes in August by ProSkillz Academy, Ikoyi Lagos for the PMP Project Management Qualification – it will give you a broad as well as hands-on knowledge of best project practice on a global scale.
Generally, some larger companies encourage their employees to study for professional qualifications and allow time off for study as well as fund the course and exam fees. Other companies require PM qualifications before you would even be invited for an interview so failure to achieve a recognized PM qualification will likely hold you back in your career.
Conclusively, there is also industry evidence from Project Management Salary Survey (2018) to indicate that those with the right professional PM certification earn higher salaries. It looks set to become ever more crucial to gain accreditation, as project management moves closely towards being recognized as a profession in the way that accountancy and law are with their emphasis on qualifications and continuous professional development.