@ RTC Aldershot - Project management training

There is a clear need in industry for project managers. Service leavers, who are often already well practised in a number of different areas of this sector, needed a generic course covering the requirements of the Association of Project Managers (APM – the sector’s professional body) PRINCE methodology (used in the public sector) and Microsoft Project 2000 as a common software package. The result is a course delivered by the Project Management Group, involving both the APM, with access to its corporate members, and Project Search, a specialist project management recruitment company.

Nowadays, all responsible organisations use a properly implemented and structured project management (PM) approach to organise, plan and control business undertakings. The RTC course provides people responsible for planning and managing projects with a structure, and the necessary tools and techniques to initiate, plan, control and review projects, including essential people skills.

The APM Professional (APMP) qualification is a widely agreed worldwide benchmark of PM knowledge. PRINCE 2 methodology is accepted throughout the UK and beyond as the leading ‘best practice’ project management approach, and is gaining momentum within central government, local government and the private sector, as well as within the MoD.

The course includes a simulated project that is a realistic vehicle on which students can practise their skills. It requires significant evening work, including private study and it is also necessary to complete practice exam questions. It teaches students to:

- understand all key areas of project management, and be able to employ tools and techniques at each stage, using a best practice approach

- organise, plan and control projects in accordance with the PRINCE 2 methodology

- provide senior management with facts in a structured format so they can make informed decisions about the project

- pass the APM Professional, and PRINCE 2 Foundation and Practitioner exams

- understand the use of MS Project 2000 for planning straightforward projects.

Instruction takes three weeks and includes such subjects as:

- PM

- the business case

- project Lplifecycle

- risk management

- project planning

- scope management

- time scheduling

- resource management

- control and coordination

- change control

- teamwork

- stakeholder management

- PRINCE 2 process model, components and techniques

- starting, initiating and controlling a project

- understanding the process relationships

- quality review technique

- MS Project 2000 overview.

There are considerable PM job opportunities in the UK and worldwide, with 150,000 people employed in PM in the UK and 12,000 members of the APM. Some 14,000 candidates have taken PRINCE 2 since January 2004 with 9,000 taking APM Professional. RTC students generally achieve a 90 per cent pass rate.

A significant amount of pre-course reading is essential. Before the course students must have done the following:

- read the PRINCE 2 manual

- read the PRINCE 2 instructions about how to pass the exam

- read the short guide to PRINCE 2 (about 10 hours)

- studied six APMP distance learning modules (another 10 hours).

For technical enquiries phone Anna Scott of the Project Group on 020 8722 8350; for course or administrative enquiries phone the RTC on Aldershot Military (94222) 3520/3637 or 01252 348520/637