How Associate Project Managers bridge the skills gap

10 July 2024

By Sarah Williams, End-Point Assessment Development Lead  

Effective project management is at the heart of successful businesses. Research indicates that 80% of all high-performing projects are led by a project manager. However, findings also show that 46% of organisations admit to not fully understanding the value of the role. This suggests that many employers could have a crucial gap in their skills-base, which, once filled, could have a significant impact.   Most will agree that meeting key priorities and core deliverables are crucial elements of a project’s success. Research suggests the most common reason these targets are not met is a lack of strategic planning, resource management and effective leadership. However, these are all skills that lie at the heart of an Associate Project Manager’s role.

Reasons to employ an Associate Project Manager 

• 70% of all business projects fail, but the failure rate drops to below 20% when project management is implemented.  
• Organisations that employ project managers and project management techniques report a 92% success rate in meeting project goals, compared to just 32% for those that employ low or no project management strategy.  
• Organisations that invest in project management practices waste 28 times less money that those that do not.  

Associate Project Managers build successful projects by: 

• identifying clear goals and objectives within the given project 
• identifying the components and tasks required to meet those goals and objectives 
• managing the resources required to make a project work 
• identifying milestones and scheduling project activity 
• having strategic oversight throughout the workflow  
• acting as a key point of contact for all stakeholders and updating them on progress 
• ensuring that all project objectives and key performance indicators are met 
• evaluating and analysing achievement to strengthen future practice. 

Opportunity for developing existing talent  

Organisations often have existing employees that work adjacently to project management within their role, but do not yet have the experience or qualifications required to work at that level. Identifying and upskilling existing talent is an efficient and effective way of building capacity and broadening the skills-base within your workforce. It also provides an excellent opportunity for continuing professional development and organisational succession planning, whilst bringing cutting-edge developments in project management directly into your operations.  

AIM – the End-Point Assessment Organisation for Associate Project Manager  

Apprentices undertaking the Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship, assessed through AIM, will gain a sound understanding of the underpinning knowledge behind project management, along with relevant, cutting-edge skills in the implementation of effective methodologies.  

AIM’s end-point assessment process offers full guidance and support to apprentices, training providers and employers. With full suites of support documentation provided, one-to-one support from AIM personnel, and guidance for employers and apprentices on all aspects of the process, our customer service is second to none.   

Find out more about the Associate Project Manager apprenticeship standard. 

References:

https://www.apm.org.uk/ 

https://www.pmi.org/ 

https://pm360consulting.ie/ 

https://asana.com/resources/anatomy-of-work 

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