Premier development for Project Managers
19 September 2011
Costain is raising the capability of project management across the Group by supporting its people to gain a prestigious industry designation that recognises their ability to successfully manage a complex project.
Costain is sponsoring 17 people from across the business to attain the Association for Project Management’s (APM) Registered Project Professional (RPP) standard which, in conjunction with the Company’s Project Management Academy, aims to meet customer demands for project competence while addressing the need for succession planning in the project management community.
“In line with our strategy to meet our customers’ needs, the Costain academy has been instrumental in up-skilling our managers to demonstrate competence and deliver complete solutions. Our customers are increasingly demanding whole-of-project capability and it’s very likely that the RPP standard will in the future become increasingly important for further advancement and for winning more work,” said Jeremy Galpin, Costain’s training and talent manager.
The APM is a registered charity with around 19,000 individual and 500 corporate members, making it the largest professional body of its kind in Europe. As part of its bid to raise awareness and standards in the project management profession it is currently applying for a Royal Charter.
As part of the process participants have to demonstrate a capability in 29 core competencies, including leadership, stakeholder management, communication and teamwork, as well as knowledge of 18 complementary competencies.
Once completed, a RPP-designated project manager means the customer can be confident the individual has been externally assessed as competent and is dedicated to their own continuing development.
For John Meakin, Operations Director in the Energy & Process division and a project manager at E.ON’s gas storage project at Holford, the RPP programme is a major step forward in recognising the knowledge and skills required to operate as a high performing project manager.
“The core competencies are well defined and give a clear indication of the complex nature of project management. I feel this programme sets a high level professional benchmark for project managers which will be recognised by our peers, employers and customers,” said John.
Shafali Shown-Keen joined Costain in 2008 after working in the finance department of an investment house specialising in tax leases. After working in the PFI and Treasury department, Shafali was seconded to the Corporate Strategy team to work on mergers and acquisitions. Shafali believes that gaining the RPP designation is the next logical step in her career.
“The APM’s RPP lifts project management to the highest level. It will give me a competitive advantage and prove that I am a responsible leader with the ability to manage a complex project. It also complements our ability to offer complete solutions across the Group,” said Shafali.
Many of Costain’s customers, like BAA, Network Rail and Crossrail, already recognise RPP as an industry benchmark that has raised the standard for project management, as a profession, to the highest level.
Vicknayson Thevendran, a project manager on the Royal Oak Portal project for Crossrail in west London, said RPP gives customers the confidence that a person has the necessary competence to manage large complex multi-faceted projects, from inception right through to completion.
“RPP provides clients and employers with confidence that the person with RPP experience has the necessary competencies to manage the project successfully,” said Vicknayson.
Commenting, Andrew Bragg, the APM’s Chief Executive, said: “The extensive profession-wide consultation which underpinned the development of RPP makes us confident that it represents the new gold standard for assessing project management competence. It recognises excellence in project management so I am particularly proud that a leading organisation of Costain’s stature is placing our pan-sector standard at the heart of its project management activity.”
For further information and testimonials on the APM Registered Project Professional standard, please click on the link below:
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