The number and variety of academic and professional project management training courses in South Africa has increased dramatically, and these vary in structure, purpose and content. For organisations choosing between training courses for their emerging project management staff, it can be confusing to differentiate between cost and quality.
According to certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Professor Derek Smith, and lecturer of the Diploma in IS Project Management at Faculty Training Institute: “The effectiveness of courses and value-added to the delegate's organisation is therefore an important consideration, especially as training is an expensive item and the return on investment can be vague.”
Using FTI's uniquely designed Diploma in IS Project Management, Professor Smith has conducted research into the efficacy of project management training using Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation Model. The model measures the reaction of students and how they felt about the training and the resulting increase in knowledge or capability following the training.
FTI's Diploma in IS Project Management, which carries a PDU rating of 33 towards PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, covers both hard and soft skills, along with the fundamental Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) skills.
The modular structured course focuses on project and general management development and encourages skills practice through situational analysis and case studies.
The diploma has a formal assessment component whereby, mid-course, delegates complete an exam to test their project management knowledge. At the end of the five-month programme, delegates are also required to conduct a project plan that integrates the skills and knowledge developed in the course. The project plan is based on an aspect of operational importance for the organisation with a view to change and improvement within their work context. “This 'real world' project, once implemented, can provide an immediate return on investment for the department or organisation, whether it be efficiencies gained in monetary value or time,” says Professor Smith.
The delegates' response to training is measurable. FTI employs the use of course evaluations before and at the end of the course, as well as a project management competency measurement tool derived from the PMBOK as a way of determining if a delegate's personal objectives were met by the course.
“From the positive delegate feedback, we know that students value learning material that synthesises and builds their own experiences and existing knowledge into the theoretical learning,” continues Professor Smith.
Developing competent IT project managers is challenging. Due to the nature of the industry, the incumbent requires both hard and soft skills, management and leadership skills and intimate knowledge of the organisational procedures and practices. The findings of Professor Smith's research into the efficacy of project management training will be presented at the Project Management South Africa Conference, in September 2010, and will assist organisations in achieving a return on investment for project management training.
Faculty Training Institute has a 21-year track record of providing training excellence and skills development to a 'professional knowledge-based society'. This community comprises not only professional individuals within the IT industry, but also professional individuals from industries and knowledge domains where high-order thinking and the ability to innovate and solve problems are prized.
For information on the Diploma in IS Project Management commencing 12 July and 28 July in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, or to view FTI's other professionally accredited PMI programmes, please contact Robyn on 021 683 4506 or robyn@fti.co.za or visit http://www.fti.co.za.
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