Recognition
The academic staff, both permanent and visiting, who deliver the programme enjoy their involvement. It is not difficult to obtain buy-in from academic staff because they find the work has intrinsic benefits through satisfaction, learning and networks obtained. For permanent staff the work is part of core business and is not financially recompensed in any way. The quality of the delegates is very high and staff find working with them highly stimulating.
Please see below for a selection of statements, made by company representatives sending delegates on PM PDP.
Value
"The Project Management Professional Development Programme was developed jointly by Rolls-Royce and UMIST (now UoM) some 10 years ago."
Benefit
"By offering blended learning this programme has the advantages of distance learning together with the benefits of mixing with peers from other project contexts. This enhanced education results in true Professional Development. Furthermore, because delegates are working in their respective companies as they acquire knowledge, they are able to 'try new ideas out' and so reinforce learning, as well as applying their learning."
Importance
This programme is world class and we, as a company have sponsored 108 graduates to date."
Mike Brown, Head of Programme Management Centre
Value
"We at Aero Engine Controls have had great benefit from the PM PDP course delivered by the University of Manchester. The programme has enabled us to provide many of our employees with skills and knowledge in a wide range of programme management activities. The modular approach has been particularly successful as employees have been able to tailor their learning to best meet their day to day responsibilities and allows them to target modules to relevant issues in their work at that time. It also to pace their learning to meet their own work life balance needs."
Benefit
"We have had a large number of students who have achieved a Master level qualification and gone on to apply their learning on wide ranging programmes within the company. The dissertations have been highly successful particularly in the case of those students who have undertaken a reflective practice approach. This has offered the opportunity to apply the learning and take a step back from their day to day roles and consider areas of development specific to their current and future careers."
Importance
"This programme has been an excellent source of skills and knowledge for us as a highly programme management driven organisation."
Melanie Rugman, Talent & Development Consultant
Value
- Networking with other project management professionals both from across AMEC and from other industries.
- A strong focus on personal reflection which means delegates learn from their failures and continuously improve their approach to managing projects and people.
- Exposure to aspects of project management that may not be practiced within specific AMEC business units such as configuration management.
- Assignments require a strong linkage into academic research in addition to personal reflection so stretch analysis of problems beyond the limited experience of delegates and therefore generates new ideas to improve the business.
- Ensures delegates research important company policies and procedures which are important to know - such as change management, supply chain terms and conditions and corporate strategy.
- Improves report writing skills.
- Exams ensure delegates retain a lot of useful information that will actually be utilised during your future as a project manager.
Benefit
- AMEC project management professionals are exposed to alternative techniques / tools / best practices for managing projects which can be implemented within AMEC to improve the overall project delivery.
- Many of the assignments use work related situations as the basis of identifying business improvements so encourage the delegate to improve the project they are working on.
- Delegates quickly learn the need to effectively manage their time in order to balance day job, personal lives and PM PDP requirements. These skills will be vital when managing large projects whilst also being involved with business initiatives and planning activities.
- Benefit that this Project Management course is directly linked to engineering
- Furthers knowledge on aspects such as planning, commercial, procurement, value management, strategy and culture which are vital in our industry.
- Makes delegates think of ways to improve certain policies, procedures, systems or strategies within your company which improves your problem solving skills as well as increasing your knowledge of the company.
Importance
- In the future it is likely that a post graduate qualification in project management and professional registration will be a standard requirement for project managers.
- The PM PDP qualification is now accredited by APM so will be useful with regards to being awarded APM chartership in the future.
- Qualification is through an academic institute rather than internal to AMEC so is recognised by clients.
- The course is also clear evidence that the AMEC project management training satisfies the APM competency frame work which is something clients are more and more asking for in tenders, particularly in the public sector and nuclear industry.
- Committing to a 3 - 4 year degree programme means high potential project management professionals are less likely to look for another job outside AMEC.
Kirsten Lightfoot, Learning and Development Advisor
Value
"The format of the course allows the employees to participate in the programme for a relatively small cost and minimal absence from the workplace. The payback period varies with each participant but a significant consideration is that with the more mature candidates the applicability of the learning is virtually immediate and the more junior candidates the learning is in direct support of their training and development plans, so the application of learning in context is very quick. It depends on which placement or role I have them working on at the time."
Benefit
"The benefits to each of the candidates varies but one of the most significant benefits is that each of them gains a fundamental and detailed knowledge of the application of PM tools and techniques as they were intended to be used, rather than learning from the local adaptations of bits of tools being used with only limited knowledge. The application of the knowledge via assignments is a fantastic way of getting these enquiring minds to review and consider how SL does things, and how can we do things better."
Importance
"The importance of the programme in support of the Graduate Development Programme for SL is reaching the point after only 2 years of use that I am now inundated with applicants wanting to join the scheme. The individuals see the alloying of education with experience in the workplace environments and I cannot see any better way of getting our Graduates to the right levels of knowledge in a better route. In summary, if this programme was not available I would have started looking for a partner to help develop something like this. The skills of our workforce are essential to our future survival as an organisation and this programme is one of the key tools in SL's resource plan."
Gary Phillips, PMPDP Student Representative