Project management graduates in transition
Graduates receive a combination of hands-on and instructor-led training, with assigned mentors/coaches from day one. The payscale starts low, but rapidly increases as they demonstrate target skills. Along the way graduates do hands-on work, supporting project managers with increasing responsibility as they work more and more independently. The program culminates in formal project management accreditation—either RegPM or PMP—after the graduates undertake the role as ‘the project manager’ on several small or non-complex projects.
One of the primary benefits of the graduate program is the ability to work with a fresh mind, untainted by poor practice. For this reason, we avoid people with one or more years of actual work experience in a related field.
A focus on competencies
Although graduates enter the program without us having an expectation of specific skills or experience, realistically during recruitment we are looking for some pre-existing skills: written communication skills, verbal communication skills, broad IT skills (e.g. Microsoft Office, internet, email), and general knowledge in either IT or business.
Our recruitment process assesses general aptitude and we try to assess overall astuteness and ambition. Assuming we find the right people, the program is then structured around specific skill and knowledge gaps. Having run the program several times now, we have a mature target list of skills and knowledge people should have by the end of each year.
Through formal quarterly reviews, together with fortnightly catchups and instructor-led training, the skill gap list is used as the basis for training and development plans. Meanwhile, people fulfil support roles on major projects, which reinforces skills as well as provides exposure to people interaction, politics and problems.
Embracing the concept that ‘one day they will leave’, we encourage graduates to gain external accreditation wherever possible. Throughout the journey, graduates will be accredited for PRINCE2, for planning/scheduling capability (PMI SP) and as a project manager (RegPM or PMP). We try to instil the notion that people are responsible for their own professional development and must continue to learn beyond the program.
We realise, however, that there is no substitute for experience. Graduates will, through their very nature, lack experience. The role of the coach/mentor is to act as a sounding board, to review outputs and more importantly to stay close enough to spot issues before they arise. Rather than stop the graduate making a mistake, the coach/mentor must be involved enough to be able to minimise impact and allow the graduate to learn. The coach/mentor will need to have the time, and ideally be co-located, to fulfil this role.
A second source of supplemented knowledge is reading and research. Our focus is on IT project managers, so reading is around IT and systems development, general business and industry innovation. Depending on the graduate’s degree, the focus of reading will vary; again we have a target list of awareness topics.
As graduates experience life on a large project, they will be exposed to good leaders and not-so-good leaders, conflict, politics, business change, re-organisations and other complexities faced by project managers. As they become more comfortable ‘doing’ we start working with them to become more aware of emotional intelligence and broader leadership qualities.
Advice for university students
When lecturing (at postgraduate level) students regularly ask for my advice relating to getting a job once they graduate. I’d summarise my advice as follows:
- Stepping stones: Separate the ultimate job from the stepping stone jobs. It is virtually impossible to get a project manager job straight out of university.
- Demand/supply: Basic economic theory applies to the job market. Consider stepping stone jobs for which there is a high demand. Good examples in IT include technical document writing, testing, project office or project support.
- Connections: Melbourne, in particular, works on a ‘who you know’ basis, therefore get connected with people, even while you are at university, and stay connected. For international students in particular, extend connections beyond your own cultural group.
- Work: While at university, and even if you don’t need the money, get a job. Gain an appreciation of the nature of work as well as an understanding of workplace relationships. For international students in particular, work provides the opportunity to improve communication skills.
- Assimilate: The current workplace is dominated by Gen X. It might be cool with Gen Y to have tattoos/piercings, be semi-shaven, to use abbreviations and emoticons, be 10 minutes late and communicate via SMS, these are not the norms of recruiters or managers. Human nature is such that there is a tendency to select similar people to oneself. Initially at least, adopt employer norms and assimilate.
The graduate programs have been one of the most successful initiatives in our business over the last four years. The program provides a win-win scenario for everyone involved, allowing graduates a fast-tracked career with tangible accreditation and giving us fun, innovative, low-cost resources. Above all, our customers receive a blended engagement with the benefit of cost effective contract resources, without the quality concerns.
