Work Ready Education

1.Introduction

Have you ever wondered how you can run a project efficiently and successfully from start to finish?

Are you seeking a career in a dynamic yet stable and future-oriented environment? Would you like to be equipped with invaluable business-specific yet cross-industry skills?

If your answer to these questions is ‘YES’, then our diploma in one of Australia’s fastest-growing and well sought-after business disciplines is your ideal choice: The Diploma of Project Management.

Industries

Which industries require Project Management?

Project Managers are in demand in any kind of industry but the most common and popular are:

Banking & Financial Services
Business
Construction
Engineering
Information & Communication Technology
Mining, Resources & Energy
and Healthcare & Medical.

Other industries include:

Accounting
Administration & Office Support
Call Centre & Customer Service
Community Services & Development
Consulting & Strategy
Design & Architecture
Human Resources & Recruitment
Insurance
Marketing & Communications
Retail & Consumer Products
Sales
Trades & Services and many more.

In fact, a report by AEG has identified 26 industry sectors with significant employment in project management-oriented occupations.

Source: Anderson Economic Group

2.Industry Insights Australia

Occupation size and industry growth

According to a recent report, it is predicted that between 2017 and 2027, the number of project management-related jobs will increase to 574,399, which means an annual increase of approximately 9,990 new job openings.

Source: PMI

Growth rate in the past 5 years

While job growth rate has already been on the rise in the past 5 years, the number of job openings for Specialist Managers is expected to be high (greater than 50,000)*.

Source: Foundation Education

Future growth in the next 5 years

And this trend is predicted to be consistently stable over the next 5 years with a future market growth rate of 6.2%, which indicates that project managers are and will be in high demand throughout Australia.

Source: Job Outlook

Seek Jobs

Source: LMIP

Importance for companies

Why Project Management matters and is on the rise

Nowadays, companies are increasingly realising that project management is an essential catalyst for organisational strategies. Projects are being realised as part of everyday business undertakings. According to The Future of Project Management: Global Outlook 2019, 35% of companies reported having completed more than 50 projects in the previous year. It was further found that 40% of businesses utilise a centralised Project Management Officer to run such projects while 65% indicated the use of more divisional or project-specific PMOs. Another key finding was that 66% of all respondents indicated that the role of a PM had a well-perceived and positive reputation.

However, despite such optimistic figures, the report also found that project success rates were generally still perceived as being rather low with regard to budgeting, duration, scope and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on this, 74% of companies therefore concluded that the role and skills of PMs would become ever more important in the future than they are nowadays.

Source: AIPM

Outlook

So what does the future hold for Project Managers in Australia?

Despite the unprecedented times experienced due to the global pandemic and frequent lockdowns, the future looks very bright for the project management industry as daily business now more than ever before has to be able to quickly respond to changing circumstances, and this includes ongoing and future projects.

Numerous projects have been launched as part of the government’s mission to accelerate the pandemic recovery. In fact, the Federal Government has budgeted an unprecedented national stimulus package of $213.6 billion and another $15 billion for state and territory government initiatives. This points towards a high demand for project management skills that are required in order to manage the high volume of different projects being realised within and beyond the traditional infrastructure and technology fields.

Source: AIPM

Despite such a positive job outlook, project success rates still remain low and increased demand is met by a substantial talent gap. Furthermore, it has been reported that the project management field is faced with more job openings than available candidates. Currently, there are around 13029 on SEEK and 3105 on Indeed alone (date retrieved: 23/4/2021). This indicates that PMs are currently some of the most sought after professions.

Source: RMIT
Seek Jobs

It is estimated that there is a yearly profession shortfall of around 1.5 million jobs. In addition, a collaborative research project has found that there are not enough professionals to satisfy the shortfall in PMs for the next decade.

Sources: Anderson Economic Group
DESE

In fact, a recent survey identified Project Management as one of 229 accredited course qualifications and/ or skills sets being of priority for the industry, e.g. Education and Training. In addition, Project Management was considered an upskilling qualification to be prioritised.

Source: TASC

Another survey backing the demand for such qualifications found that 50.9% of employers used the VET system to fill job openings with 34.2% of them offering jobs requiring VET qualifications (2019). At the same time however, 53.5% and 55.6% of employers experienced recruitment difficulties due to a lack of skilled workers or limited applicants respectively.

Source: NCVER

Gender breakdown

Let’s look at some figures:

Male: 58.2%
Female: 41.3%

Source: Payscale

Average age

Source: Job Outlook

Employment opportunities by territory

The demand for Specialist Managers is highest in:

Source: Foundation Education

Employment type

Mainly full-time employment
81% (Project Coordinators/Administrators)

Source: Job Outlook

Popular employers include

AirBnB
Amazon.com
Apple
Atom Resources
Booz, Allen, and Hamilton
Careers at Council
Citi
Deloitte Australia
Government
Hays
HP
International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMCC)
Microsoft
Northrop Grumman Corporation
PwC Australia
Sandstone Technology
Seven Consulting
Target
UPS

Average salary

A project Manager’s salary depends on their expertise but also their specific job title and the industry they work in. See the examples below:

Project Managers (General): $130,000:
Industry-specific salaries according to Hays:
Information Technology Project Managers: $102,000 to $150,000
Senior Project Manager: $122,000 to $180,000
Project Managers in Resources and Mining: $112,000 to $260,000
Project Managers in Oil and Gas: $122,000 to $250,000
Specific Project Manager in Rail Infrastructure: $122,000 to $255,000

Source: Seek Jobs

Interesting to know: On a global salary comparison, Australia ranks 3.

Source: PMI

Industries salary comparison

If the above figures haven’t been convincing enough, read on.

In an industry-wide salary comparison survey it was found that the salary of a Project Manager in Construction, for example, was estimated to be the 2nd highest in 2021.

Source: Michael Page

3.Beyond Borders: The Global Vision

Global outlook

Starting and building a career as a Project Manager also means looking at a long-term vision with regard to potential relocation or travel desires beyond our national borders. So what’s in for you as a Project Manager from a global perspective?

Based on a report published by StartupAUS, Project Management is one of the five most in demand jobs in the world at the moment.

Source: CIO

It is estimated that by 2027, project management demand will increase by 33% in 11 major countries, including Australia. Within the same timeframe, companies will require 87.7 million professionals taking on project management-related jobs.

Source: Career One

The distribution will vary across industries with the following showing the highest volume in job openings:

Manufacturing and Construction: 9.7 million
Utilities: 279,000
Information Services and Publishing: 5.5 million
Finance and Insurance: 4.6 million
Management and Professional Services: 1.7 million
Oil and Gas: 49,000

Given the fact that GDP contributions from project-related industries are predicted to be US$20.2 trillion, the global outlook is very positive for Project Managers. In fact, it is estimated that companies will require nearly 2.2 MILLION new project-focused positions annually until 2027.

Source: PMI

Conclusion

As you can see, the profession of a Project Manager is undoubtedly a very promising, stable and diverse field. Now let’s explore the job profile of a Project Manager more in-depth.

4.Job Profile

Who is it for?

The Diploma of Project Management is designed for people who wish to learn and apply project management skills and knowledge in various contexts and industries.

Professionals in these roles have project leadership and management roles and ensure the achievement of project objectives such as leading new growth strategies, changing systems, restructuring teams or launching marketing events. In addition to extensive theoretical knowledge, students of this course will be equipped with a range of specialised, technical and managerial knowledge and skills enabling them to successfully initiate, plan, set budgets, track progress, control communication, manage development and human resources, execute and evaluate project undertakings.

Source: My Skills

Potential careers

Career pathways for Project Management graduates are plentiful and diverse. A research project identified 83 project management-oriented occupations with 16 of them being ‘inside’ of the project management profession and 67 ‘outside.’

Source: Anderson Economic Group

Project Management-related titles include but are not limited to:

Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
Operations Manager
Program Coordinator
Program Manager
Project Accountant
Project Administrator
Project Advisor
Project Assistant
Project Contract Manager
Project Delivery Consultant
Project Director
Project Engineer
Project Executive
Project Leader
Project Manager (generic and industry-specific)
Project Management Officer
Project Team Leader
Project Vendor Manager

Sources: Foundation Education

Career path

Source: Lucid Chart

Skills

So what skills will you need to succeed in project management?

What prospective employers are looking for are proactive individuals who are open to multitasking change. At the same time, they require PMs to have strong communication and interpersonal skills with a strong rational business mind.

In addition, you’ll possess or learn the following non-exhaustive skills set list:

Attention to detail
Developing and reviewing contracts, programs and projects
Budgeting
Change Management
Collecting and analysing data
Conflict-resolution
Critical thinking
Data analysis
Developing strategies for more sustainable use of resources
Identifying stakeholders’ needs
Instructing
Judgement and decision-making
Managing projects and project integration
Negotiation and persuasion
Planning, organisation and prioritising
Problem-solving
Process improvement
Quality assurance
Reporting
Risk management and appreciation, and proactive assessment
Strong leadership skills
Time-management and coordination

Source: AA Pathways

The outstanding aspect about Project Management is that all the skills that you will learn are transferable. This is also why this discipline has been listed as one of the top 7 essential skills.

Source: Michael Page

Job Indicator Rating (out of 5)

A recent study assessed job satisfaction indicators within the industry and found the following results with the overall opinion of it being a highly satisfying profession:

Job satisfaction: 4.5
Work-Life Balance: 4.3
Career Progression Opportunities: 3.8
Pay/Salary: 3.8
Job Security: 3.6
Variety of Work: 4.3

Sources: Payscale

Alternative/ Linked careers

The great news is that due to its diverse scope, Project Management can be used as a stepping stone into other careers such as:

Construction and Remodeling
Warehouse and Manufacturing Jobs
HelpDesk and Customer Service
Academic Research
Quality Assurance Tester
Assistant Event Planner
Junior Business Analyst
Marketing Analyst
User Liaison
Assistant Construction Manager
Web Designer or App Developer
Team Leader
Logistics Manager/Coordinator
Office Manager
Sales Manager
Business Analyst

Source: Project Management

5.Study Focus

Importance of VET qualifications

A recent survey found that 50.9% of employers used the VET system to fill job openings with 34.2% of them offering jobs requiring VET qualifications (2019).

Source: NCVER

Demand for individuals with a Diploma or higher level of qualification will rise by 600,000 jobs as predicted by the Department of Education’s Employment Outlook 2017 to 2021.

Source: National Training

Overall qualification completion rate

Diplomas were projected to be amongst the highest or the highest completion rates (2026-2018).

Source: NCVER

Overall diploma fees compared to university fees (per year)

On average, pursuing education as part of a diploma incurs 1/3 of the fees of a university degree: $5000 compared to approximately $15 000

Source: Hot Courses Abroad
Sydney Education

Study field popularity ranking

In 2019, courses in management and commerce were the most popular field of education.

Source: NCVER

Related study fields and alternative pathways

Business Services Career Pathway:

Business, Business Administration and Sales
Customer Engagement
Education
Governance
Human Resources and Work Health & Safety
Legal and Conveyancing
Library & Information Services
Marketing & Communication
Medical
Project Management
Purchasing
Recordkeeping
Small Business and Franchising

Sources: AA Pathways

Course satisfaction (Diploma of Business overall)

93.5% of graduates were satisfied with their course and

89.2% achieved the main reason for undertaking the training.

Source: NCVER

Improved employment status after training (Diploma of Business overall)

77.5% of graduates had an improved employment status after completing their training.

This percentage reflects all graduates of this course who started/expanded a business or who have a new job, more highly skilled work, a promotion or higher pay.

Source: NCVER

Graduate Employment status after training (Diploma of Business overall)

93.2% of graduates were employed after undertaking the training.

74.9% of graduates were in full-time employment after undertaking the training.

19.3% of graduates were in part-time employment after undertaking the training.

Source: NCVER

Graduates from this overall industry in employment (in any industry).

Between 75% and 85% of graduates were employed after training.

Source: AA Pathways

Median salary after training ($) (Diploma of Business overall)

Median salary of graduates employed in their first full-time job: 77 700

Median salary of those employed full-time: 80 800

Sources: NCVER

Top 3 Industries (Diploma of Business overall)

Graduates of this course are most often employed in:

Education and Training: 14.3%
Health Care and Social Assistance: 24.3%
Public Administration and Safety: 11.8%

Source: NCVER

Top 3 Occupations (Diploma of Business overall)

Graduates of this course are most often employed as:

Managers: 40.1%
Professionals: 26.2%
Clerical and Administrative Workers: 20.5%

Source: NCVER

Additional employment and education profile

Source: National Skills Comission

6.General Conclusion

Whether you have just finished High School, are returning to the job market or simply want to upskill and explore a new dimension, our Diploma of Leadership and Management will equip and ready you for job opportunities that offer stability, diversity and variety, personal and professional development, and a bright job market outlook.

Conclusion

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be at the forefront of business operations? Do you aspire to having this accountability based on your own in-depth analytical understanding of business trends and data, and thus accelerate your business’ growth and success? Are you looking for a career that opens up unlimited pathways to career opportunities that are versatile, non-restricting, secure and future-oriented? If your answer to these questions is ‘YES’, then our diploma in one of the most popular yet innovative and top-notch disciplines is your ideal choice to take your career to the maximum level: The Diploma of Business (specialisation in Digital & Data).

7.List of Sources

* All information and data on this page has been retrieved from the sources listed below and are accurate based on the source publication date. These sources were accessed in April 2021.