Address a Global Need
2008 Global Executive Survey Results Identify Project Professionals as Vital Job Category
In 2008, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the world's foremost provider of industry and management analysis, conducted a survey of senior executives who were asked to identify the job category most important to their current and future success:
- Project professionals were identified as the single most important management job category.
- 97% of the other disciplines they listed were integral parts of the project management profession.
- 60% stated that senior management collaborates directly with project professionals. More than half of them indicated that this collaboration would increase.
A World of Projects
Data collected by the World Bank reveal that more than 1/5 of the world's gross domestic product is being spent on project-based work. These data reflect the inevitable shift away from traditional management models toward a new paradigm of project management. It has also resulted in a dramatic increase in the need for skilled project managers.
A World of Need
The global need for skilled project management is being raised by such organizations as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Parliament.
The Demand is Increasing
A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey reported that in many industries, the need for project managers would grow faster than the average for all other occupations combined.
One troubling survey by Gartner Inc., the leading provider of research and analysis to the global IT industry, encapsulated the growing problem: not only was project management the number one hiring priority of select companies surveyed, it also was the most frequently reported as "difficult to hire."
The Supply is Falling
Both U.S. General Accounting Office and Australian Government studies revealed one of the causes: the aging of the population. A large percentage (perhaps as high as 30%) of the project management workforce is retiring or will be facing retirement in the next 10 years.
What are the Next Steps?
Read on to learn how to be a leader in the emerging field of project management.
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