The Times writes: “…project management is undergoing a rebrand to become a driver of global growth”.
Amen!
Reading this article with my morning coffee put a spring in my step.
The Times goes on to say that “successful project management is key to delivering most major business activities from building crucial new infrastructure or software systems to organising music festivals or transitioning to green energy.”
I’ve written “software systems” in bold here because, well, I think that IT projects may be the most important in driving all this growth.
Of course, I would say this.
As a provider of IT Project resources, at Stoneseed we’re naturally biased, but even just taking a moment to consider the other project management categories listed here backs up my bias. Each is dependent of great IT initiatives, from the online booking systems selling tickets to those music festivals to the data that measures and shows the value of transitioning to green energy, to the IT that underpins the building of crucial new infrastructure! IT Project rule all!!
DIZZYING ARRAY
With growth comes great talent opportunities! A few challenges too!!
The Project Management Institute (PMI) estimates almost 40 million professionals work in project-related roles worldwide – in what The Times describes as a “dizzying array” of job titles from project, programme, and portfolio management to product ownership and agile practices.
World Economic Forum (WEF) research reveals that project management is the planet’s twelfth-fastest growing job role with an additional 16 million specialists needed across the globe in the next decade.
There are talent shortages now, when you factor those gaps in with the growth trajectory and the PMI and WEF forecasts, even simple, back-of-an-envelope maths gives you an idea of the challenges ahead, begging the question – where are all these Project Managers going to come from?
Hopefully, that’s a question that is above yours and my paygrade, assuming you’re not part of a secret PMI taskforce, it’s not our job to resource the whole planet! Phew!! Although, we will give it some thought in a moment – with a little help from a friend.
The more pertinent immediate question for you and I is – where is your next PM coming from?
There’s more choice than ever for the best candidates; a recruiter told me recently that it feels like Project Managers interview those with a vacancy now rather than the traditional way round and as a hiring organisation it is you that has to stand out in an increasingly competitive market! In the coming years, Project Management as a Service is going to play a pivotal role in resourcing projects – build a relationship with a PMaaS provider now!!
So that’s your immediate project resourcing sorted – TL;DR summary: it’s Project Management as a Service. Let’s turn our thoughts to the wider global resourcing challenges.
As Pierre Le Manh, president and chief executive of the Project Management Institute told The Times, “Organisations are faced with the need to transform to remain relevant, and transformation happens through projects. They need highly qualified project professionals to lead these business-critical initiatives.”
So … where are they all coming from?
This question is not above my friend Andy’s paygrade. He is currently wrangling this exact issue for a UK public sector organisation, as he puts it “my job is joining the dots between where we are now and where I imagine we need to be in ten years.”
He told me, “It is a fascinating shift. Project management used to be this kind of behind-the-scenes discipline, but now it’s becoming mission critical in everything. And with all of us going through such nonstop change, someone who can wrestle timelines, budgets, and people is absolute gold. The challenge is finding and getting them on board your mission.” Here’s how it’s being addressed:
1 – EDUCATION
PMI’s “Talent Gap Report” calls for the education system to play an increasingly pivotal role – and many are responding with routes to PM qualifications. Just shy of 100 UK universities now offer project management courses and degrees, and almost three quarters (71%) of major organisations run project management apprenticeship programmes.
2 – UPSKILLING AND ACCESSING NON-TRADITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE TALENT PIPELINES
While education is key, the industry isn’t just trying to lure school leavers and new graduates, efforts to attract “seasoned professionals who already possess many of the key skills needed” have also been expedited.
The project management sector has increasing appeal for such talent, with a GVA (Gross Value Added, a metric used to measure economic contribution) up more than £30 billion since 2019 to £186.8 billion today. Groups targeted include:
i) Career changers from adjacent fields (e.g., operations, business analysis, other management fields) and many professionals with “domain expertise” (e.g., engineers, marketers, analysts) are transitioning into project management roles.
Robin Carter-Evans, the education outreach manager at APM told The Times, “For career changers, the skillset needed for project management, which includes communication, leadership, planning, organisation, risk management, problem-solving, time management, and stakeholder management, are very transferrable.”
Soft skills, leadership, and communication abilities often matter more than formal PM education, so companies are tapping into existing staff with those traits.
ii) “PM Veterans”, return-to-work parents, or those from underrepresented backgrounds are being targeted by inclusive upskilling initiatives.
Education remains vital here, organisations are investing in internal PM training and offering certifications (like PMP, PRINCE2, etc) and online bootcamps and micro-credentials are enabling faster, accessible PM education.
3 – GLOBAL WORKFORCE SHIFTS
When resourcing projects, organisations are casting their net more widely:
• Companies are expanding their talent search internationally, accessing remote and hybrid PM talent from “lower-cost or under-tapped regions”.
• Global hiring platforms are now actively helping connect PMs to companies worldwide.
4 – AI AND AUTOMATION ARE “FORCE MULTIPLIERS”
Tools like AI-powered project assistants, automated scheduling, and predictive analytics will help one PM manage more projects, easing the shortage somewhat. BUT human judgment remains essential – AI will assist, not replace (our profession was “recently named as one of the top ten jobs least likely to be replaced by AI”).
5 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A SERVICE
PMAAS (Project Management as a Service) absolutely deserves a spot on the list. Andy said, “Honestly, it might become one of the most influential trends in how the talent shortage gets addressed. I think of it like on-demand, plug-and-play project managers or PMO functions”.
Why it matters:
• Companies struggling to hire full-time PMs (due to talent shortages or budget constraints) can tap into PMaaS providers.
• These services scale up or down depending on project load – like spinning up a PM team for a 6-month transformation, then scaling back.
• PMaaS firms often come with ready-made frameworks, tools, and experienced professionals, reducing ramp-up time and risk.
How PMaaS fits into the big picture:
• It’s essentially “PM talent on tap” — helping plug the gaps until internal capacity is built.
• Especially useful for SMEs, startups, or organisations without existing PMOs.
• It can also offer access to specialised PM skill sets that aren’t worth hiring in-house full-time.
• It’s not just about talent: PMaaS is often bundled with strategic delivery consulting, tool ecosystems (like Stoneseed’s PMO Platform), and analytics/reporting.
“Project management is a thriving profession”, Pierre Le Manh told the Times.
He is right!
Indeed, in the UK alone, Association for Project Management (APM) research shows the number of project professionals has increased from 2.13 million, back in 2019, to an estimated 2.32 million now, and half of firms expect to take on even more projects over the next three years.
And that’s REALLY exciting.
And a little challenging.
And … in the short to mid-term, Project Management as a Service has got your back.
More about Project Management as a Service from Stoneseed
SOURCES:
https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/entrepreneurs/article/successful-project-management-is-key-to-growth-taking-off-wcsknl9r0
https://www.afterschoolafrica.com/95881/the-top-10-jobs-that-cannot-be-replaced-by-ai-and-why-theyre-safe/
https://www.pmi.org/learning/careers/talent-gap-2021