The role of the project administrator or project support officer as an essential aid to project managers and leaders is becoming increasingly important in many organisations, says Brent Combrink of the Faculty Training Institute (FTI).
He adds that many personal assistants, secretaries, IT team leaders and other support staff already have some of the required skills, but need to understand the nature of the role and enhance their project-related skills before moving into professional project administration.
"The professional project administrator supports project leaders and managers by, for example, looking after all the project documentation and communications, gathering information and making sure it gets to the right people," says Combrink.
"Many project administrators also work with Gantt charts, help to manage budgets and compile progress and financial reports to support decision-making by project leaders and managers."
Many corporate support staff already have the communication and basic software skills they need for a project administration role, says Combrink. "The missing elements are an understanding of the nature and role of projects in the organisation, and knowledge of the tools and jargon used in project management like network diagrams and critical path methods."
Combrink convenes FTI's three-day short course in the principles of professional project administration, which aims to equip delegates with the skills they need to administer medium to large projects, or to manage smaller projects themselves.
FTI MD Steve Erlank says that while there is much talk of the need for project management skills in South Africa, "in reality, we don't need project managers as much as we need people who can structure their work effectively in a project-oriented way. Every learner, every person in the public sector, and almost every employee and manager today, needs some kind of project-related knowledge to become more effective."
Erlank says FTI developed its Principles of Professional Project Administration course after noticing that "many people attend project management courses to learn how to work in a project-oriented way, even when they have no intention of becoming project managers".
Combrink says the course is very practically oriented: "We help people work through real challenges they're facing on the job. We also supply a toolkit of templates, guides, check lists and resources to help people succeed in their role."
FTI offers five Principles of Professional Project Administrator courses in Cape Town and five in Johannesburg each year, and plans to introduce a part-time certificate course for project administrators who are looking for a qualification that recognises their special skills. Potential delegates should contact FTI on (021) 683 4506.
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Faculty Training Institute (FTI) is a private training company that specialises in offering world-class career-oriented training courses for professional knowledge workers, mainly in the corporate world. Focusing on mid-career rather than entry-level training, FTI specialises in project management, business analysis, systems analysis, software engineering, IT management and e-business training. It offers a variety of training options including public or in-house, part-time or full-time courses.
FTI was founded in 1989 by five experienced lecturers from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Cape Town, who perceived a gap between the technical or entry-level training offered by most private training companies, and the longer degree programmes offered by tertiary institutions. During the past 17 years, FTI has expanded its successful product offerings from the initial two Diploma courses into growing range of diplomas and short courses that serve the career needs of corporate South Africa.
In October 2006, FTI was awarded Charter Endorsed Education Provider status with the International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA). It is one of a handful of training organisations worldwide that have achieved this status.
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