Faculty Training Institute's (FTI) new Certificate Programme in Project Management Practice is off to a flying start and courses are now wait-listing. Launched late last year as part of a completely restructured curriculum in project management, this new, four-month long, part-time programme encompasses traditional project management knowledge and techniques, as well as modern developments in the field.
While the course is of specific relevance to project managers at the start of their career, the content also appeals to people with different job titles, since the emphasis of the course is on how to successfully plan and manage any kind of work that involves business or systems change.
“On top of meeting cost and timeframes on projects, project managers need to contribute much more holistic business value. Business can no longer afford the project manager who becomes an overhead to the project, or who manages people against inflexible plans and schedules. The modern business project manager is often deeply embedded in the project, and needs to deliver value by actively unblocking impediments to the project, building stakeholder relationships, and extracting performance from team players by motivating, leading and supporting,” says Steve Erlank, MD of FTI.
“Organisations are demanding agility from projects, which is turning the traditional role of the project manager upside down. In many cases, the person 'managing' the project may not even have the job title of project manager. They still employ many of the tools and techniques from the domain of project managements, and they are still filling a project management role. It's just that their mindset, focus, and title are different.”
“The Certificate programme combines instructor-led lectures with real-life case studies and assignments, which allow delegates to implement their learning in the real world,” says Carol Mould, (PMP), course designer and programme manager of FTI's project management programmes. The Certificate is currently offered part-time over four months of contact time in Gauteng and Cape Town, and will be rolled out to other centres and in other formats, as demand for alternative schedules emerges.
The new course is part of FTI's broader strategy to bring to market a completely revised and upgraded portfolio of project management programmes. The project management portfolio will replace FTI's highly successful, but more focused, Diploma in IS Project Management, which ran for two decades and had hundreds of successful graduates, many of whom have gone on to fill senior positions in their organisations. The new series will appeal to a wider audience, and open the door to entry level delegates, as well as provide learning opportunities for senior project staff looking for mastery in the discipline.
The brand new portfolio of courses addresses project and programme management as an evolving discipline, where the business project manager is more of a leader than a manager, and whose priority is managing value risk, quality and performance, rather than the more conventional emphasis on time and budget.
FTI's follow-on course from the Certificate Programme, the Applied Project Management Programme, launches in third quarter 2012, and advance bookings will be opening soon. This course is aimed at more experienced or currently practising project managers who have qualified with the Certificate course or equivalent. The Applied Project Management programme contains extensive content on leadership and interpersonal communication skills, as well as substantial focus on workplace assignments and practical work. The programme will enable practicing project managers to formalise and build on their foundational project management skills, and demonstrate practical mastery of the tools and techniques.
The course content is aligned to unit standards, and all practical work on the courses is geared towards the development of a portfolio of evidence that demonstrates that the delegate has the requisite knowledge and skills against the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) PM unit standards. Upon completion of the portfolio of evidence, delegates doing these programmes will be able to submit their portfolios for official assessment in order to earn credits towards the National Certificate in Project Management, should they desire this.
“The early interest in the Certificate Programme in Project Management Practice and its early adoption by the market can be attributed to the programme's relevance and innovative perspectives on project management. FTI also has a highly respected reputation that spans more than two decades, for its forward-thinking approach to the field of project management,” says Erlank. “Our benchmark has always been to produce delegates who can immediately apply their skills in the workplace. These programmes will take our course offerings to the next level.”
For further information about The Certificate Programme in Project Management Practice commencing on 9 February 2012 in Cape Town, and 2 April 2012 in Johannesburg, contact Elector@fti.co.za or call 021 683-4506 or Leaanne@fti.co.za on 011 807-9478.