Results from the PMI 2013 ‘Pulse of the Profession’ Survey

Results from the Project Management Institute (PMI) 2013 ‘Pulse of the Profession’ Survey makes interesting reading, particularly given most of the world is in or near recession. PMI predicts that between 2010 and 2020, 15.7 million new project management roles will be created globally across seven project-intensive industries. China and India will lead the growth in project management, generating approximately 8.1 million and 4 million project management roles through 2020, respectively.

Along with job growth, there will be a significant increase in the economic footprint of the project management profession which is expected to grow by US$6.61 trillion. This enormous anticipated growth, along with higher-than average salaries, will make the next seven years an opportune time for professionals and job-seekers to build project management skills.

The squeeze on talent has already started! Results from PMI’s ‘Pulse of the Profession’ survey shows that high-performing organisations don’t just emphasise strategy and improve efficiency. They cultivate talent resources to deliver successful projects and programs. With that talent, they can reduce risk, increase stability, improve growth and build a strong competitive advantage.

In contrast, poorly performing organisations that don’t see talent as part of the success equation – they believe the job market is a bottomless pit of skilled people that can be bought in as needed. This puts their projects and their organisations at risk.

While more and more successful organisations have adopted talent management as a core competency, many others fail to invest in skilled project management talent and talent development initiatives, and this shows in their performance.

The low-performing organisations—those which complete 60% or fewer projects on time, on budget and within scope—are significantly less likely to provide a defined career path for project managers, a process to develop project management competency and/or training on project management tools and techniques. Poaching talent is a zero sum game that simply drives up costs for everyone.

As a result of this lack of investment, a talent gap exists in project management. A large number of skilled practitioners are reaching retirement age, organisations that train staff hold onto staff and the rest are going to find recruitment becoming increasingly difficult. Talent simply does not grow on trees: skills need developing and nurturing within the organisations that need them.

The reason this matters is that at a time when project success rates are declining and risks are increasing, organisational leadership needs to fill an anticipated 15.7 million new project management roles worldwide by 2020. If they don’t, $344.08 billion in GDP will be at risk, and that’s not even counting the $135 million that organisations already risk for every $1 billion spent on projects.

Are you and your team ready to make talent management a strategic priority?

The following PDFs are free to download, courtesy Mosaic Projects:

• PMI’s Pulse of the Profession™ In-Depth Report: Talent Management
• PMI’s Project Management Skills Gap Report
• PMI Career Framework

See how you can build your organisation’s success, one project manager at a time.