Project Management on the Move

The Project Management Institute has done a superb job of marketing their key brand, the Project Management Professional better known as PMP®. This marketing campaign may be partially responsible for the increased focus placed on the proper management of projects throughout the world. Another reason for an increase focus on project management skills is the world wide recession we’re currently experiencing. Businesses everywhere are watching their expenditures more closely now than before. Projects which won’t make an immediate contribution to the bottom line are being postponed but those that do are being more closely watched than before. Businesses are risk averse in this climate and want to eliminate as many risks to their projects as possible, beginning with entrusting the project to qualified project managers.

The profile of the project management profession has been prominent for the last several years in North America but it is beginning to rise globally. As the profession gains recognition, the Project Management Institute is making inroads marketing the PMP® brand. An article in the April edition of PM Network® states the number of PMP® certificants in the country as 1,400 and the country has a long waiting list of applicants. The article, written by Rania Al-Maghraby, states that the number of large organizations launching project management offices is also on the increase. The Egyptian government is also coming to the fore in the recognition of project management and the PMP® brand. Why is this important? A recent search on the OilCareers web site (http://www.oilcareers.com/worldwide/) listed no less than 41 project management jobs in Egypt!

The Egyptian government is keeping pace with the movement in other sectors towards project management professionals demanding certification for many of its project management positions. The construction and IT sectors lead the way in the move towards disciplined project management while the manufacturing industry lacks the maturity found in these industries. Egypt is not at the forfront of the movement in the middle east. It falls about the middle of the pack with the Arabian Gulf countries taking the lead. One of the drivers for the heightened focus on project management discipline is the increasing level of foreign investment in the country.

Although the UAE (United Arab Emirates is much smaller in terms of population than Egypt, it is one of those Arabian Gulf countries leading the way in the middle east in terms of project management maturity. The entire population of the UAE is 5.06 million yet in Dubai (one of those Emirates), with a population of only 1.7 million, a search for project management jobs found 41 on just one web site. The difference in the level of demand for the profession is perhaps explained by the difference in the economies of Egypt and the UAE. The biggest contributors to Dubai’s economy are real estate (construction), tourism (more construction), and financial services. Petroleum and natural gas make up just 6% of Dubai’s economy so 2 of the main contributors involve the construction industry which is one of the most mature in terms of project management. The other relies heavily on IT which is also relatively mature in terms of project management. The writer principle business is PMP® Exam Preparation training (see the AceIt© section in our website) and sales in Dubai have been fairly brisk.

The Middle East is a good indicator that project management is on the move all over the world, but perhaps the fastest growing market in terms of sheer numbers is India. A search of the internet for project management jobs in India turned up no less than 57,894 matches! There are currently about 11,000 PMI members in India. They have the 3^rd largest membership behind the United States and Canada and that number is growing rapidly. When you compare the population of India (1.148 Billion)to that of Canada or the United States its not difficult to imagine a much higher membership number. India’s rapidly growing economy owes much of its growth to the recent growth in the outsourcing industry, especially in the area of IT. India is realizing that it must cultivate its project management skills in order to be competitive in that area. As the economy grows, infastructure projects grow apace and project management skills are in demand there as well.

China is India’s chief rival for outsourcing so of course China has begun to focus on project management skills. Although the outsourcing business is currently concentrated in Hong Kong rather than the mainland, Hong Kong is a large city with a population of more than 7 million. To give you an idea of the degree to which the PMP® brand has taken root in Hong Kong, there are currently 74 different training courses available in Hong Kong!

The United States and Canada are still the leaders in the area of certified project management professionals, but as you can see, the rest of the world is catching up. We didn’t discuss large countries, such as Malaysia, where the profession may not be as super heated as it is in the countries we did discuss. Look for the profession and the PMP® brand to catch up there in the near future.