How To Develop Project Management Competencies Without Training

Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.

  Talent Management  

I work in a public sector environment, and I see three recurring issues:

1. Too many projects and not enough project managers
2. Enough staff, but insufficient project management skills
3. The value of fundamental project management competencies is not understood at staff levels

The list of projects in my community continues to grow. The municipality works to provide the best possible service for its residents while, at the same time, endlessly updating critical infrastructure. As an organization, we strive to do the maximum possible amount of work within the restrictive budget and limited available human resources.

During a time of uncertainty, upper levels of government implement policies to stimulate the economy by providing funding to create jobs and economic activity. Part of my role is to ensure the municipality takes advantage of the available stimulus funding.

We have been extraordinarily successful with our applications for financial assistance. However, one of the challenges is that when funding has been approved, work must be completed within the mandated timeline. Quality vendors are difficult to secure, and internal resources needed to provide overall project management are in short supply. In-flight projects need to be completed while the new project is being planned. With only about 55 full-time employees, the municipality simply doesn’t have …

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