Inspiring students about project management

Over 180 teachers from schools and colleges across the UK have signed up to our campaign, ’Make it Happen’, with the specialist youth engagement agency We Are Futures.

Part of our suite of outreach support for schools, colleges and universities, the campaign was designed to inspire and raise awareness of project management as a career. It is also aligned to help schools and colleges meet their Gatsby benchmarks of good career guidance.

Aimed at 15 – 18 year olds, the 'Make it Happen! toolkit' gives an inspiring and practical solution for students to help them manage their school projects. The kit includes a student project guide, a teacher guide, a launch PowerPoint presentation, and a selection of case studies. Registered students can also request a half day mentoring session with a project professional. 

Caspar Bartington, APM’s education manager said: “Recent APM research shows that the project profession is one of the most popular careers for students to aspire to. We are excited about the opportunities this pilot campaign offers us to engage meaningfully with students undertaking different projects, and in so doing make a worthwhile contribution to schools and colleges.”  

Senior strategist and talent and skills lead, Claire Smith from We are Futures added: "The APM 'Make it Happen! toolkit' is an invaluable source of practical support for time-poor teachers wanting to inspire and empower their students to deliver their own projects, giving young people the tools to develop their project independently whilst learning how they can apply their gained skills to a career in project management at the same time. The fantastic up-take from schools shows that this toolkit has helped students to deliver a diverse range of projects - from mini-enterprises to supporting social action in their local community – providing a real-world application for skills that can be difficult to foster within the curriculum.” 

The pilot, launched in the summer term of 2017/18, will grow through 2018/19 as more schools engage with APM. It is anticipated that the campaign would have helped several thousand students manage their project and inspire them to be project professionals. 

Caspar concluded: “This is an exciting development for APM to engage more deeply with schools to establish project management as a first-choice career. We look forward to working with We Are Futures to grow the scheme for this academic year and, thanks to an apprenticeship and a new degree apprenticeship in project management, it won’t be long until we see an increase in the next generation of project professionals.”