Can a Project Management course help you achieve your career goals?

Project management refers to a specific set of principles and processes that effectively design, execute, and manage new changes or plans within a business. The practice is a staple in any company, regardless of size – as it ensures that new assignments, campaigns, and other initiatives are completed by deadlines with optimum quality and efficiency.

Statistics show that lacking clear goals is the most common cause of project failures in business, underscoring the vital need for project management skills. These professionals typically account for the set timeframe, budget, scope, and expected quality of a project; setting targets according to these guidelines to achieve the outcomes desired.

However, the benefits of these skills aren’t exclusive to those specialising in project management – but grant competitive advantage to any worker, regardless of industry.

Below, we explore the various ways a project management course can aid in achieving your career goals, and how Lumify Work can help.

It equips you with valuable soft skills

Studying project management can help sharpen the valuable soft skills one needs for any career – these including interpersonal skills, the ability to work independently, and the self-confidence to achieve one’s goals. According some experts, soft skills can account for up to 85% of a project’s success.

Through a project management course, students will likely refine their skills in active listening and communication. The field involves much coordination, collaboration, and active discussion with stakeholders and teams to ensure everyone is up to date on requirements, project status, and potential risks. Of course, these skills are not only useful in a management role – but across all levels of an organisation, in any industry.

Project management students may also learn the value of integrity, honesty, and building trust and respect within a team. Effective relationship-building, empathy, and the ability to motivate are also other soft skills commonly learned in these courses. All are highly in-demand competencies for any business, helping you stand out in the job market.

The business skills you learn are transferable to any industry

On top of transferable soft skills, you’ll also equip yourself with the hard business skills to succeed in any field.

A course in project management arms you with strong planning and goal-setting abilities – skills that aid in seeing any project to completion. Students typically learn effective methods of budgeting, scheduling, and estimating required resources to achieve project goals; along with documenting every step of the process for future reference or review. You’ll also learn to build resilience as you (and your colleagues) work towards a shared objective – while, at the same time, maintaining an agile, flexible approach to help anticipate risks and manage unexpected changes.

All such skills are highly valuable in any business, regardless of one’s position or field. Expertise in project management can boost one’s employability, enhancing their current role or helping those who specialise in the field easily transition between different industries.

Those looking for a career boost will also find that such skills can help them climb the ladder – as studying project management often improves one’s business leadership, stakeholder management, and delegation skills.

You improve your overall work quality

By understanding the best methods and practices leading to successful project completion – you can use such knowledge to improve the quality of your day-to-day tasks. Project management involves overseeing both the macro and micro-processes of a project; and it’s mastering the management of “micro-tasks” (planning your daily to-do list, eliminating distractions, prioritising tasks, etc.) that can help you better tackle your everyday duties.

This, in turn, leads to greater career satisfaction, and a higher likelihood of moving your way up the ladder.

Project management courses additionally help build one’s diligence in sticking to and fulfilling task requirements. Valuable discipline is often formed to effectively work with strict schedules and limited resources, ensuring clients receive the quality results they’re after in a timely manner. Furthermore, you’ll learn to identify ways of improving the workflow – achieving fewer schedule delays, rework, and common mistakes.

These lessons are transferable to your everyday responsibilities, helping you maintain high standards and error-free results in day-to-day workloads. You’ll learn to plan, prioritise, and manage your daily tasks better – making you a more efficient, reliable employee.

You familiarise yourself with information systems

In today’s modern landscape, project management processes have shifted to the digital sphere – making it a must for experts to sharpen their basic IT competencies.

By studying project management, you can familiarise yourself with a wide variety of applications, programs, and platforms to assist you in your tasks. Knowledge of these technologies are highly valuable to most employers today, as statistics show that 77% of the “highest-performing projects” use some type of project management software.

These programs may vary according to project needs, though the best will typically include tools in planning, budgeting, invoicing, file-sharing, task management, and resource management. Having the skills to navigate these types of software can help you better coordinate with team members and complete projects smoothly with greater efficiency.

These abilities don’t just benefit those in a project management role, but any worker taking part in a collaborative business initiative. Mastering such systems allows one to successfully track, monitor, and review the progress of current projects, keeping them atop current circumstances and helping them identify ways of improving workflow.

The strong computer application skills of a project management course effectively adds value to their resume – especially in today’s increasingly-digitized world.

You demonstrate your commitment to professional development

Finally, current workers who upskill in project management establish their commitment to learning and continuous improvement.

Employers are sure to appreciate these efforts in professional development, raising your value and individual profile as an employee in their business. This can open new doors of career development opportunity, helping you progress within your company or industry. It additionally gives you an edge against competition, as employers are more likely to consider those with such qualifications than those without.

You’ll also leave a positive overall impact on your organisation, as knowledge in best practices and quality project management tools can help ease and improve your company’s work processes. As a result, your business reaps greater customer satisfaction – boosting their reputation, credibility, workplace morale, and effectively saving on costs and resources.

By undertaking a project management course, you’ll not only be well-equipped to demonstrate high-level leadership capabilities, but also the driven, “continuous learner” mindset to help you further your career.

Ready to arm yourself with project management skills?

No matter your position or industry, quality project management skills can help you achieve your career goals through expertise in goal setting, leadership, and risk management.

Lumify (formerly DDLS) is Australia’s largest provider of corporate IT and process training – currently offers a wide range of project management courses, including those covering essential skills and methodologies like Agile and Scrum, PRINCE2 and change management. Students can train themselves in the knowledge required to boost operational efficiency and business success, in whichever role and field they pursue.

With Lumify Anywhere, students can also choose to undertake these studies online – allowing flexible delivery to suit their personal needs and schedule.

Stand out in the job market with valuable skills in project management. Access our guide to project management frameworks. And enquire with us on a project management course today.