Catalogue of training courses

These courses were launched by the Association for Project Management in 2012 and we are delivering them in association with Milton Keynes College who have over 20,000 students and service more than 600 corporate clients.  Candidates attend 2 days a month for two years to build up 600 hours of contact time in theory and practice of all technical and behavioural competences.  The syllabus covers learning outcomes for all examining bodies in the project management space, from APM Group, through APM to PMI and IPMA, so candidates can pick up whatever additional qualifications they want en route to chartered levels in the profession.  By the end of this course, participants will be able to manage non-complex projects and be competent to assist in complex projects and programmes.
See page for Higher Apprenticeships in Project Management

I am frequently asked to recommend a project management course for those accidental project managers who have found themselves in the role through performance and ability but who have gaps in formal training.  In my opinion, courses provided by the different certifying bodies, with variances in approach from method to knowledge, only partially meet requirements.  This 5 day course is designed to provide the necessary ‘Why, What, How and When’ of project management across the full life-cycle, from concept to benefits realisation, through practical learning delivered by expert practitioners with broad and deep experience.  The course covers all the key areas of the body of knowledge for the profession, including planning, estimation, monitoring and control, risk and issue management, implementation and benefits realisation.  By the end of this course, experienced participants will know how to run non-complex projects and assist in complex projects and programmes.

Popular training courses for project management focus on method and technical competences, but most recognise that behavioural competences are what separate high performing managers from those who simply follow process.  Indeed, qualification to chartered levels requires assessment of ability and behavioural competences rather than just knowledge.  In this 3 day course we develop behaviours in the 4 aspects of Emotional Intelligence (EI): self awareness, self control, social awareness and social influence.  Along the way we cover key all essential soft skills for project managers, going broader and deeper than those described in competence frameworks such as those provided by professional bodies.  By the end of this course, participants will have a greater degree of self awareness of their own beliefs and behaviours, practical techniques for managing state, be able to hear what isn’t being said, and understand why and how to flex behaviours for effective outcomes.

Managers in general are expected to have specific training in developing and motivating staff, and usually have a stable environment to shape a team according to component strengths over time.  In projects, quite often we are assigned a collection of individuals that change from project to project, come from different functional backgrounds with their own professional cultures, usually with no direct authority, sometimes from a range of supplier organisations, with conflicting priorities, often in disparate locations and increasingly international and virtual.  And we have to start delivering from the word ‘go’.  Project environments truly are at the sharp end of management competences.  Yet standard training for project managers still focuses on the mechanics and processes.  This short 2 day course fills gaps in management competences, covering team motivation and tolls and techniques for building high performing teams quickly.  By the end of this course, participants will be able get buy-in to team goals, develop a team charter, facilitate kick-off and progress meetings, and be confident in running workshops to co-construct key PM products such as resourced plans and managed risk registers.

One definition of project management is ‘getting things done through others’.  But how do you get things done through others in a world where PMs usually lack formal authority and diverse teams often have conflicting priorities?  The old authoritarian models of leadership are still useful in crises situations but cause deterioration in motivation and performance over time.  To be a leader who builds capability, and one who people actually want to follow, the true definition of leadership, requires development of so-called resonant styles of leadership.  Learn when and how to adopt and apply resonant leadership styles, model leaders who excel, quickly develop rapport, learn and practice the language of leadership, and how to look, act and feel like a leader that people want to follow.

Project management can be full of set-backs and it is essential to build resilience to avoid deterioration in performance and poor decision making as a result of prolonged stress.  This 2 day course covers the origins and causes of stress, how to manage them in yourself and avoid creating them in your team, and practical tools and techniques for building resilience so that you stay in peak performance.

Project Managers have to get their message over to a wide range of stakeholders, both on the client side and on the resource side, understand different perspectives and maps of the world and find accommodations to ensure smooth progress.  Moreover, you have to develop effective communications fast to keep delivery on track, and probably with different groups and individuals from project to project.  This truly is the sharp end of management.  In this course, contextualised to project management and taught by practitioners with broad and deep experience across many sectors, you will model good listeners, hone the ability to ‘hear what isn’t being said’, tailor your language to the recipient, maximise the impact of your communications to the range of channels and customer expectations, and present with confidence to business audiences.

Whether a project is judged as being a success or not is probably more about the opinions of stakeholders than in your schedules and financial returns, and delays are more likely to be from lack of engagement and blockers than from technical difficulties.  In this 2 day course you will develop tools and techniques for mapping different stakeholder perspectives, reading their map of the world, speaking their language, and finding accommodation so that you have support through your project and afterwards, whatever the outcome.

The role of the Project Sponsor is perhaps even more important than that of the project manager in preventing failure, and effective governance must strike the balance between over-sight and over-managed.  From co-authors of standard guidance on project governance and the role of the sponsor, this course will provide you with the ‘why, what, when and how’ of governance of project management, explain the role of the Project Sponsor and give you practice in meeting the needs of the different stakeholders.

Why do we need to carry out assurance?  Who needs to be assured about what, and why?  What are the different approaches?  How should we tailor assurance to size and complexity? What does good look like?  How can we tell when a project is in real difficulty and needs outside intervention? What should we look for at the different phases of the project life cycle.  How can we get to truth through interviews? How should we report results so that they lead to improvements rather than resentment?  These questions, and your own, are answered in this 2 day course delivered by expert practitioners with decades of experience in assurance of projects, programmes and portfolios.

‘Life is a negotiation’, and so often it is the case in projects, not only in classic negotiation with suppliers, but everyday in expectation management, finding accommodation between different stakeholders, setting goals, selecting resources, agreeing plans and managing costs.  This 2 day course provides an overview of classic theory of negotiation, practical approaches for understanding and accommodating different requirements, and techniques for reaching agreement quickly.  At the end of this course, participants will feel confident in approaching formal and informal negotiations in typical project situations.

This one day workshop provides an overview and understanding of approaches, tools and techniques capable of filling the gaps in behavioural competences required to effectively deliver projects through others.

Based on the book ‘NLP for Project Managers’, this course has had amazing reviews and feedback.  In 5 day format the course covers all the key aspects, tools and techniques of behavioural change described in the book, which acts as a syllabus.  (The three day format leaves the modules on motivating the team and leadership aspects as follow-on modules)

This 3 day course is aimed at Business Analysts supporting IT projects.  The body of knowledge and competence framework for BAs is maturing but most practitioners have learned the technical competences on the job, leaving gaps in managerial and behavioural competences that can mean that solutions developed do not adequately meet the needs of the end users.  En-route, extensive re-work is discovered during the testing phase, resulting in repeated delays, cost escalation, friction with the business and deferment of benefits.  This course helps BAs: facilitate effectively, hear what isn’t being said, separate needs from wants, find accommodations and develop assertive behaviours.  Do you want someone with those skills and behaviours on your team?