S
SW1970
Hi folks, thought you might find this interesting. Please keep follow up posts constructive.
I've been in the technical side (inc high availability power) of the high tech industry for many years and have following being made redundant a year ago moving into domestic & light commercial electrical work. Over the last 10 years I've worked very closely with project managers. In the world of project management, there is a qualification called Prince2 that PMs are supposed to have. Prince2 is controlled by the Office of Government Commerce. It's more or less impossible to get a job without Prince2 (even with significant experience). Interestingly, I've seen that it's easy to get a job with Prince2 and very little experience. Government puts Prince2 in public tenders as a minimum requirement for how major projects will be run. Now, here's the thing. I've come across oodles of PMs that couldn't project manage their way to do the weekly shop at Sainsbury's. At one point I picked up a team of 30 PMs, all with Prince2, about half of which (upon picking the team up) I wouldn't trust with a single penny of budget. Yet, this qualification is seen as the bees knees. PM today isn't a bit of organisation like it used to be, it's now full blown leadership, including H&S and control of contractors. Having seen this in several large companies (inc consultancies) and with several large clients, I think this view is pretty accurate across the discipline of PM.
So what we have is a government sponsored qualification/scheme that lots of people have qualified/obtained when perhaps they shouldn't have, where the customer thinks it's all fine and dandy and is prepared to pay, and where there are a core of experts who hold a very different view about the realities of the situation.
Sound familiar? In the world of PM worst case is a late project, perhaps overbudget and a stroppy client. The PM might get fired (but probably won't) and just move onto the next project. In the world of electrical installations it could be a lot more serious.
Dodgy project managers will continue to deliver rubbish projects, dodgy electricians will continue to expose client to risk and maybe a fire 10 years later, or at least a mess for the next guy to clear up.
Other threads have commented on the need for licensing etc. I think it needs to be deeper than that. There needs to be a proper risk of being struck off. Dodgy doctors get struck off and can't do any more damage.
I've been in the technical side (inc high availability power) of the high tech industry for many years and have following being made redundant a year ago moving into domestic & light commercial electrical work. Over the last 10 years I've worked very closely with project managers. In the world of project management, there is a qualification called Prince2 that PMs are supposed to have. Prince2 is controlled by the Office of Government Commerce. It's more or less impossible to get a job without Prince2 (even with significant experience). Interestingly, I've seen that it's easy to get a job with Prince2 and very little experience. Government puts Prince2 in public tenders as a minimum requirement for how major projects will be run. Now, here's the thing. I've come across oodles of PMs that couldn't project manage their way to do the weekly shop at Sainsbury's. At one point I picked up a team of 30 PMs, all with Prince2, about half of which (upon picking the team up) I wouldn't trust with a single penny of budget. Yet, this qualification is seen as the bees knees. PM today isn't a bit of organisation like it used to be, it's now full blown leadership, including H&S and control of contractors. Having seen this in several large companies (inc consultancies) and with several large clients, I think this view is pretty accurate across the discipline of PM.
So what we have is a government sponsored qualification/scheme that lots of people have qualified/obtained when perhaps they shouldn't have, where the customer thinks it's all fine and dandy and is prepared to pay, and where there are a core of experts who hold a very different view about the realities of the situation.
Sound familiar? In the world of PM worst case is a late project, perhaps overbudget and a stroppy client. The PM might get fired (but probably won't) and just move onto the next project. In the world of electrical installations it could be a lot more serious.
Dodgy project managers will continue to deliver rubbish projects, dodgy electricians will continue to expose client to risk and maybe a fire 10 years later, or at least a mess for the next guy to clear up.
Other threads have commented on the need for licensing etc. I think it needs to be deeper than that. There needs to be a proper risk of being struck off. Dodgy doctors get struck off and can't do any more damage.
