Ensuring graduates are “job-ready” to deliver future projects

Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM)

Project Management courses must align with Australian industry standards and best practices.

With the recent announcement of the ‘Job-ready Graduates Package’, by the Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Education, now is the time to ensure that higher education courses, specifically related to the discipline of project management, adhere to industry standards and best practices.

The ‘Job-ready Graduates Package’, which will provide an additional 39,000 university places by 2023, follows the federal and state governments bringing forward of numerous infrastructure and construction projects to help steer Australia’s economy out of the COVID-19 period.

“The escalation of shovel ready projects, combined with this newest package, incentivising students to study a select range of subjects, is welcome news as we look at ways to boost Australia’s economy,” said Elizabeth Foley, the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) CEO.

The areas of study included in the package are industries where the government expects to see further employment growth and demand. These include the obvious professions that are in high demand, such as nursing and teaching, as well as those that will support the bringing forward of major projects, such as architecture, IT, construction and engineering.

“For students who decide to pursue studies, which relate to project management, it is essential that the courses available in the market reflect industry standards and current best practices. For the fields of architecture, IT and engineering, the skills of project management become particularly important, and it is fast becoming a required skillset in areas such as law, business, and marketing,” said Ms Foley.

“Project Management forms part of a standard competency required across multiple industries. The job-relevant knowledge of planning methodologies and procedures, delivery, controlling and hand-over of projects can only be obtained through the legitimate study of project management fundamentals through accredited tertiary qualifications.”

According to Ms Foley universities and vocational educators need to ensure that project management courses available in Australia have been assessed by project management specialists and meet the requirements of the project management industry.

Ms Foley explained, “It is imperative that the higher education courses related to project management that are available today have high-quality content and delivery, to ensure that graduates complete their studies with the skillset needed for Australia’s future projects.”

Elizabeth Foley, CEO of AIPM is

/Public Release.