What is Project Management?
A project manager is one who is tasked with overseeing the overall flow and success of a project. A project manager is needed wherever you find projects being done. In Zimbabwe this post is found in the NGO sector, Land Development Companies, Construction Companies and Software Engineering Companies among others.
Who should study Project Management?
If your passion is to run and manage projects then this is for you. As you check job postings for this career you will probably notice that Project Management is rarely a standalone qualification. A number of employers prefer project managers who have prior specialisations in their own technical areas.
What do I need to become a Project Manager?
In order to do their jobs effectively project managers must develop and / closely monitor the following areas:
- Project Requirements Analysis
- Managing Input and needs of the project team (Procurement)
- Accurate Project Scope definitions
- Time Lines
- Project Budget
- Quality Control
- Risk Management
The project manager must adequately structure team member roles and responsibilities, accurately assess and alleviate risk. To be a good project manager one has to be a team player apart from having good technical skills.
What Qualifications are required?
There are many project management qualifications available on the scene.* Some academic programmes also include project management content, notably MBA degrees. A number of institutions offer specialised project management courses that range from 6 months to a year.
Besides local training one can also pursue a PMP certification which is a very highly ranked internationally recognised qualification. This certification requires:
- A four year degree plus 35 hours of project management education(which you can do with a recognised local institution), at least 3 years of project management experience with 4500 hours leading projects or
- A diploma and 5 years project management experience with 7500 hours leading projects
These requirements can be found at http://www.pmi.org. You can also go for the less stringent certified associate program as an entry point before pursuing the PMP. Currently there are no Exam Centers for this certification within Zimbabwe. One would therefore have to travel either to South Africa or Botswana to write the PMP certification. You should however keep checking their site in case some organisation does establish an exam Center.
*careerzim.com invites all institutions or training companies offering project management to contact us and to provide information that will assist prospective students.