If education is truly the key to any nation’s development, then education should be the key to the development of project management in Africa.
Higher or tertiary institutions offering various degree courses in project management in Africa have crucial roles to play in the development and advancement of the profession within the continent.
In case you don’t know, I’m a Bachelor’s degree holder in Project Management Technology (PMT) of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria, and I will be sharing with you my knowledge and opinion on how the educational sector can help develop and advance the practice of project management, as part of my “Project Management for Africa” Initiative is working with institutions offering degree courses in project management in Africa.
Number of Institutions in Nigeria
FUTO was the first tertiary institution in Nigeria to offer a degree course in project management. They started offering a bachelor’s degree course in the year 1982, and now offer post-graduate degree courses in project management. You can click here to view the list of other institutions offering degree courses in project management in Nigeria.
However, the number of institutions offering the course in Nigeria is still quite low when compared to the number of higher institutions established within the country. And one of the reasons is due to the level of awareness of the profession within the country. With the initiative, we’re looking forward to working with and encouraging some institutions in setting up a project management department.
Level of Awareness
Did you know that at least…
- 40 per cent of project management graduates (bachelor’s degree holders) in Nigeria have never heard about the profession prior to gaining admission? (How they ended up in the department is beyond the scope of this article)
- 30 per cent of project management graduates in Nigeria do not know where or how to pursue their project management career?
- 70 per cent of project management graduates in Nigeria end up in other fields, positions and roles not relating to project management?
The point I’m trying to let you know is that the level of awareness of the profession in each country will always have a direct impact on the number of persons who are highly interested in studying the course within that country. And the more interested persons we have who knew about the course prior to gaining admission, the less they would want divert away from the profession upon graduating. Let me ask you, “What is the possibility or probability of persons who never applied to study medicine, pharmacy, architect, law, or any other professional course with high-level of awareness and practice gaining admission into any of those departments?” The department of project management in various institutions in Africa who are interested in supporting or sponsoring our initiative in terms of creating more awareness about the profession, are free to contact us.
Quality of Graduates
Our initiative does not focus only on creating awareness campaigns, but also in supporting institutions to produce quality graduates for the project management industry. One of the very few negative experiences I had while pursuing my degree in FUTO was the act of awarding a particular course to a lecturer who knows next-to-nothing about the course. On what capacity, on what knowledge and on what criteria would a lecturer grade or asses a student when the lecturer has openly admitted that he/she knows next-to-nothing about that particular course? The department should be blamed for offering the lecture the power to handle such a course and the lecturer should be blamed also for accepting it. This is one of the negative issues that should be checked and corrected by not just FUTO, but every other institution that’s offering a project management degree course in Africa, because the quality of graduates being produced will have a direct impact on the growth and development of the project management industry of each country.
Courses Review
The department of project management across various institutions in Africa need to review the courses being offered to its students, at least every 4 to 5 years. I would suggest the Nigeria Association of Project Management Professionals (NAPMP), Project Management South Africa (PMSA), and other national bodies representing project management in various African countries to organize a get-together with heads of departments, professors and consultants in project management within their country to create a standard course format that would strictly be adhered to by any higher institution offering a degree course in project management within that country. This will go a long way in developing the practice of project management in Africa. Another point of notice, if any new course is added, such course should be handled by a lecturer who is very knowledgeable about the course, and that’s why continuous learning and research are not only for the students, but for the lecturers as well.
Career Counseling
This is one thing that’s missing in most institutions in Nigeria. Most persons in Nigeria are confused about what course to study. Some who have already gained admission are even more confused about what roles their profession plays in the society, and project management students are not left out. Recently, I received series of email from a project management student. For personal reasons, I won’t mention the name of the person but I will quote the email for you to read: “Hi Project Manager, how is a project management graduate holder considered in the labour market? I am also studying PMT 400-Level in FUTMinna.” “Hi Project Manager, what would a project management graduate do in a construction company on site that’s different from a civil engineer, because it’s like only engineers are recognized on site? Please give me proper definition of the responsibility of a project management graduate without engineering degree on site.” “Hi brother, it has been somehow intimidating here, I think we have to define our roles and let the general public (other professionals) know. Am presently undergoing my Industrial training (IT) and I really need where project management is being practiced so that I can know what to build upon, which is very scarce.” My initiative is looking forward to working with project management departments in Africa, at offering counseling and career advice to their project management students. But for now, if you’re a PMT student or new graduate who’s still confused about where or how to pursue your project management career, I would suggest you read these two of my articles:
It would offer you some great tips.
Professional Certification
Won’t it be great if some project management students in Africa would graduate with not only a bachelor’s degree but also with a professional certification in project management? This will help in not only boosting their knowledge, as they would have to study more to sit for any of such professional examination, but it would also boost their Curriculum Vitae and their chances of getting a job in the industry. There are organizations and institutes around the world who offer some globally-accepted professional certifications in project management that do not require working experience before applying and sitting for the examination The departments of each institution should find a way in liaising with such organizations so as to offer interested students the opportunity of being certified in some professional certifications while graduating.
I have a firm believe that the educational sector have crucial roles to play in advancing the practice of project management in Africa. Non-African countries are also free to adopt some of the ideas and tips shared above if they see fit.
If you’re interested in supporting my “Project Management for Africa” Initiative or sponsoring any of our plans/events, send an email to info @ jerryihejirika.com or call (+234) 07030972415, 07057681036.
Together, we will transform Africa through project management.
project management, Project Management Africa, Project Management Education, project management nigeria
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