Project management opportunities are there for the taking – if you’ve got the talent and skills. But just what are employers looking for in potential project managers?

Demand for project managers amongst traditional QS firms continues apace. Latest figures from recruitment group Hays show a 14% increase in the number of PM jobs filled between April 2004 and May 2005. James Marriott of Hays’ property and surveying department claims demand is particularly high at present. This is creating a shortage in supply. “Applicants are becoming increasingly difficult to find as employers recognise the value of their present staff and are doing what they can to keep them,” says Marriott.

Hays’ figures also show that despite the firm receiving 14% more CVs in the last year from candidates, the firm is actually registering 12% less of them due to their clients being more demanding and the increase in the number of people calling themselves project managers when they may not fit the actual requirements of the job.

The practitioners themselves are rather blunt on the problem of finding good project managers. EC Harris is seeing high demand across the UK, as well as mainland Europe and the Middle East. Tim Risbridger, an EC Harris partner currently working on the Terminal 5 project, says there is no shortage of applicants, but a woeful lack of good ones.

...exceptional candidates from the British and Australian armies

Sam Walsh, EC Harris

“Of 20 applications I see every month only one or two are worth calling in for interview,” he says.

So with such high demand, what does it take to be a good PM? Well it seems that knowledge of what a practising project manager is not is a good starter. Risbridger claims many site supervisors or site managers are describing themselves as project managers “when they do not have the capabilities, experience or proven track record that is necessary to be a project manager”. And Andrew Adams, a sector director at AYH’s corporate accommodation division, also says there is confusion over the role. “A PM’s role is very wide and detailed. They need to be able to both think strategically and be able to deliver the projects. This is an absolute requirement”, he says.

They do not have the capabilities, experience or track record

Tim Risbridger, EC Harris

The general qualities required for the role – good communication, taking a strategic view on programmes and procurement – are leading to a trend for non-cognate graduates entering the trade. Sam Walsh, another EC Harris partner, supports this view: “We have seen exceptional candidates from the British and Australian armies, and from final client organisations, all of whom possess the drive and desire to contribute to the successful delivery of schemes,” he says. So if you can show the required attitude and aptitude it seems a role as a PM is there for the taking.

The RICS is holding its annual project management faculty lunch today at the RAC club. The main sponsor is recruitment group Hays Property & Surveying.

Tips and trends

Know your project controls – They are becoming a “fundamental tool in delivering the principles of sound project management techniques” according to David de Rossi, a project management consultant at EC Harris. Project controls is about developing and implementing systems and strategies to provide the right management information with which to act, for the successful delivery of a project.

Public versus private – There are major cultural differences between the two industries. There is a single point of contact usually in the private sector as opposed to several in the public. There are also multiple funding routes in public work. Private work can also be unpredictable with clients yo-yoing between employing in-house project managers or outsourcing the service.

Public sector demand – Councils are tending to use more external PMs, according to AYH’s John Isherwood. He claims that PMs are good at bridging the gap between councils and contractors. “Very often the council’s experience of dealing with contractors makes them wary that contractors may be trying to rip them off. The external PM can instil a better understanding between the parties.”

Source

QS News