Project Management-Oriented Employment (PMOE) – Future Outlook

Project management is a fulfilling career choice that may offer competitive pay and a wide range of job opportunities. As a result, project managers are constantly in demand: Qualified individuals are always needed to plan and provide work in every business.

Over the next ten years, demand for project managers is one of the roles which will expand faster than the need for workers in other roles. But on the other hand, organizations may face risks due to the talent gap.

Understanding PMOE

Projects are becoming an increasingly important component of business completion. The acceleration of business evolution, increasing emphasis on digital transformation, and ever-changing consumer expectations and competitor offers are here to stay. As a result, project management skills and talents are becoming increasingly important in organizations.

Organizations will not invest in training the people in those positions to accomplish that work if those roles are not recognized as contributing to project management. As a result, they will not foster an environment where employees may develop experience, and they will eventually find themselves unable to sustain the number of projects that must be delivered.

One of the reasons that technical roles are considered part of PMOE is the growing adoption of agile ways to deliver work. However, many organizations still see agile as a ‘project management free’ delivery method, where the self-organized nature of agile teams eliminates the need for project management. But, again, this thinking must change if there is any hope of closing the skills gap.

Organizations must assess their skill profiles for all roles and determine if project management competencies should be included. Even roles that do not entail daily project delivery or where employees are more frequent contributors than leaders are likely to benefit from project management skills and experience. Unless that is ‘built in’ to job profiles, hiring and development methods will remain the same, and the shortage will remain unaddressed.

Talent Gap Report 2021

Successful projects are a significant contributor to global economic growth. As more industries become projectized, the demand for qualified project managers will likely rise over the next decade.

The Talent Gap Report 2021 has been released by the Project Management Institute. The headline is the scarcity of qualified candidates for project management-oriented employment (PMOE). As a result, around 25 million more employees will be required by 2030 than in 2019. To put this in context, there were 90 million workers in those positions in 2019, implying a 30% increase.

Simultaneously, 13 million existing project management-oriented employees will retire, with the vast majority nearing the top of the experience curve. This phenomenon implies that enterprises will lose significant knowledge and skill. And this will happen when they increase the need for that experience by introducing a large number of new project-related staff who must progress quickly. In developed economies, on the other hand, retirement is the primary source of job possibilities for younger workers.

The report’s most critical statement comes near the end: “Global demand for project management expertise is unlikely to be addressed by 2030 unless firms encourage a culture of continuous learning.” As a result, firms confront a huge growth in PMOE roles and an inability to address that requirement based on current business processes.

Addressing challenges of this magnitude demands a strategic approach backed by financial commitments and constant responsibility for performance. In some circumstances, it may also necessitate a transformation in how leaders understand their companies and roles.

Why and where is the Talent Gap?

There are three reasons for the project management talent gap:

• The number of positions requiring project management skills is increasing.
• Project managers are in high demand in emerging and developing companies.
• Project managers are retiring faster than young talent can replace them.

Upskill the people 

Unless firms foster a culture of continuous learning, the worldwide need for project management skills is unlikely to be met by 2030. The most resilient firms will prioritize reimagined employee capability-building.

According to a McKinsey report, over 80% of business leaders consider skill building to be “very” or “very” vital to their organization’s growth, up from 59% before the pandemic. As a result, organizations will need to support new learning initiatives and seek partnerships to equip employees with the appropriate project management skills to develop their talent. These talents include power skills like teamwork and leadership; business acumen to develop well-rounded employees; and mastering new methods of working, such as growing use of tech-enhanced problem-solving tools.

Gaining a Competitive Advantage in the Talent Acquisition Race: The Front-Runners

According to PMI and PwC study, a cohort of 250 organizations face fewer challenges in attracting and retaining talent than their counterparts. Their project management offices (PMOs) are better connected with corporate strategy—three quarters have a C-suite presence, and 90% are seen as strategic partners by their executive leaders. As a result, they have an easier time recruiting people with important project skills. They are more successful at developing project managers. They are also twice as likely to have outperformed in revenue growth, customer acquisition, customer happiness, and environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) indicators.

Facilitating project-based organizations

The concept of stable operations is unlikely to exist at any scale by 2030, which is one of the most important factors driving the demand for more individuals in PMOE roles. The rapid growth of technology has resulted in much shorter lifecycles for both customer-facing and internal solutions. This trend is expected to continue as digital transformations drive organizations to the point where technology is vital in managing every business area.

Future of project management

Project management is being massively disrupted by management technology. As a result, forward-thinking professionals are questioning how to effectively prepare for the upcoming tidal wave of change caused by technological innovation.

Here are four skills that project managers of the future might need:

• Data Science
• Conflict resolution
• Entrepreneurship
• Resource management

Project Management’s Future in the Age of Advanced Technology

Because of emerging trends such as remote teams, digitalization, and automation, project management has changed dramatically in recent years. As a result, companies now rely significantly on technology to plan, execute, and monitor work. As an example:

• Big data and artificial intelligence for better risk forecasting
• Remote progress tracking using digitization technologies
• Automation software for more efficient execution

These innovations have improved firms’ management capacities and altered project management’s future. According to Gartner research, 80% of management duties will be automated by 2030, and future managers will need more technological abilities. They must be knowledgeable about cybersecurity, blockchains, machine learning, and robots, all of which are expected to play larger roles in management.

Future Trends of Project Management

Consider project management ten years ago: fewer tools, smaller teams, and more straightforward tasks. Since then, the project landscape has changed dramatically, with major trends such as:

• Blockchain
• Artificial intelligence
• Sustainability
• Remote teams

Trend 1 – Blockchain

More companies use blockchain technologies for management, such as when conducting dispute investigations. The capacity of blockchain to automatically update data makes it ideal for reconciling records and transactions. One of the most significant contributions of blockchain to project management will be smart contracts, which are effectively self-executing contracts powered by computer code.

Smart contracts reduce the number of key functions within the project manager’s scope, such as checking on project milestones and assigning new ones, which speeds up management processes. As a result, quicker workflow assures project completion on time and improves a company’s overall performance.

Trend 2 – Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence quickly infiltrates project management systems, handling anything from predictive analysis to risk management. Because of its efficacy, AI is expected to contribute:

• $42.7 B (7.7%) to Egypt’s economy
• $135.2 B (12.4%) to Saudi Arabia’s economy
• $96.3 B (13.6%) to the UAE economy

The primary capacity of AI is to provide data insights for decision-making, which increases the agility of any given project. For example, assume a manager considers which product features to include; AI finds correlations and patterns in consumer data and then recommends which product features are more likely to sell. Such insights improve an organization’s competitiveness by avoiding commitment to poorly planned, hazardous ventures.

Trend 3 – Sustainability

Today, project sustainability is more crucial than ever. Governments and societies all around the world are demanding greener approaches throughout the life cycle of a project.

Green initiatives are cost-cutting methods from a business standpoint. For example, energy is required for project execution, and shifting to renewable sources reduces costs. In addition, this frees up resources for other essential areas, such as innovation and research. Meanwhile, sustainable practices improve a company’s brand and foster consumer loyalty.

Trend 4 – Remote Teams

Remote teams have been the norm since the advent of communication technology. As a result, businesses gain from a more diverse and borderless talent pool easily available through contracts. In addition, they spend less on office space, travel, and other administrative expenses.

As a result, it’s not unexpected that 65% of workers anticipate that workplaces will become entirely virtual over the next several years. In general, remote working arrangements enable businesses to extend their resources while increasing operational efficiency. As such, they are crucial in developing lean, competitive firms.

Skills Future Project Professionals Need 

To stay up with modern project management trends, a fundamental understanding of ideas such as data science, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship is required. For example, understanding data science may assist a manager in incorporating AI into more elements of the project life cycle.

Here’s a closer look at what these talents comprise and how they’ll stay up with future project management improvements.

Skill 1 – Data Science

Big data insights are essential management tools, particularly for large projects with extensive life cycles. Insights from previous projects show inefficiencies that guide the current project, such as the number of slack hours and their causes. Data analysis assesses progress and uncovers deviations early, such as changes in material costs and currency rates that exceed expectations. As a result, project managers must comprehend topics such as statistical inference and regression analysis.

Skill 2 – Conflict Resolution

Today’s projects are extremely complicated, with constantly changing deliverables. As a result, conflicts are never far away. These issues, if left unaddressed, can undermine the team’s performance, resulting in delays and missed deliverables. Managers must thus grasp the various aspects of conflict resolution, such as:

• A conducive work environment’s behavioral and organizational components
• Effective communication
• Effective contingency planning

Skill 3 – Entrepreneurship

Project managers are, in essence, CEOs. On the one hand, they manage project deliverables. Yet, simultaneously, they negotiate with shareholders and set goals based on estimates. As a result, being effective requires more than technical and administrative skills.

Entrepreneurial skills, such as strategic thinking and market insight, are also required of project leaders. Such skills are especially important when modifying deliverables, typical in agile projects like software development.

Skill 4 – Resource Management

Budgets and timeframes became tighter as projects became larger and more complicated. Today’s project managers must balance budgetary constraints, quality delivery, and achieving deadlines with limited resources. They are entrusted with creating a lean organization.

For optimal efficacy, a precise balance of resource allocation is required, as over-allocation to one activity inhibits the others. As a result, managers must understand resource management principles such as equilibrium shifts and flexibility.

Bridging the talent gap

The PMI Talent Gap report delves into a decade’s worth of project management-related job trends, costs, and global implications. PMI has completed its most recent study of the “projectized” businesses that leverage these talents better to understand talent and employment trends in project management. Using data from selected areas, the PMI Talent Gap report provides a birds-eye perspective of the most in-demand talents and the magnitude of the talent shortfall.

PMI data shows a continuing gap between the global demand for project management skills and talent availability. This data translates into many new career prospects in PMOE for job-seeking project professionals. However, the skill shortage is a significant issue for firms that rely on project leaders and changemakers. For example, by 2030, this skill gap is anticipated to affect every area, resulting in a potential global GDP loss of up to US$345.5 billion.

Here is a summary of the top three reasons for the skill gap, as identified by PMI research and explained in the report:

• An increase in the number of professions that need project management expertise.
• Economic growth drives demand for project managers in emerging and developing countries.
• The rate of labor-force retirement

Final Thoughts

Project management has a bright future. There is still a high demand for change agents. PM will transition from being viewed as an administrative function by some executives to the strategic partnership that it has the potential to be in every organization, not just those enlightened businesses with high levels of program management maturity.

For many years, the skills of project managers have migrated toward “soft” skills. However, given how the future of work is shaping, this will become much more important. Project managers will need to be team players. As a result, we’ll need to interact with people who have the skills that the technical companion lacks:

• Empathy
• Strategic thinking
• Fun
• Creativity
• Motivation and persuasion
• Thoughtful customer service
• Listening

Feel free to check out my discussion on this topic with Justin Buckwalter in YouTube

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