Kenya is still short of professional project managers, the Institute of Applied Project Management (IAPM) has said.
IAPM is the body mandated with guiding the continuous improvement in improving organisational performance and staff professional development in the areas of Project Management skills.
It says the majority of engineers in the country are yet to undertake training in project management.
Principal consultant and chief business transformation agent at the IAPM, Clement Kitetu, said in a bid to bridge the gap, they have managed to train more than 500 project managers since the onset of Covid-19 in 2020.
“We are far away from having good project managers. What we have are subject matter experts who are good at what their art is, but have not been trained in the practice of project management,” said Kitetu.
However, the low uptake of the project management discipline has been attributed to the fact that it is still a new discipline.
“This, therefore, means it needs a lot of support and awareness for people to be trained and certified before practicing," said Stephen Ciirah, a projects management professional who has had stints with international organisations, including Canadian Airlines and WWF International.
The courses combine knowledge from experts in the field.
In December, the institution certified 60 members as professional project managers after the training.
The Institution of Engineers of Kenya Secretary, Shammah Kiteme, said engineers must understand that project management involves many aspects that go beyond the hard call of engineering.
“You can do well as an engineer and fail as a project manager. That is why we are determined to build capacities of our members," Kiteme said.
