Hello,
I have recently returned to the UK after travelling Australia for the past 12 months. Prior to my travels I had worked as a project planner for 3 years on various industrial projects. During my 12 months in Australia, I worked the first 6 as a planning engineer in Adelaide. After this I travelled around Australia for the remaining 6 months. Upon my return to the UK I have found it very difficult to pick up work as a planner. I was just wondering if anyone could provide some guidance as to how I can get back into project planning soon.
Kind Regards,
David Craig
A certification may help - there are three current options pending PP adding 'The Guild'.
AACEi has the PSP - not sure of its availablity in UK.
CIOB has its certification see: http://www.ciob.org/time-management-assessment Athena are UK based.
PMI has its PMI-SP credential see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-Planning_One-on-One.html
Having said this, I'm not at all sure scheduling certifications have the same clout in the job market for schedulers that project management certifications have for project managers but acquiring one may give you an edge.
Hi David
You have returned to the UK at just the worst posible time to get employed as a planner.
Look at PP job site and there are less than 20 posts - at one time recently it was down to 3 - but just 6 months ago there were 60+
The best advice I can give is notify all the regular agancies that post on PP of your availablity. Register on linked in and join some planning groups - check the job postings daily. Send out flyers to Contractor's in your area. Be prepared to go freelance if the opportunity arises.
Good luck
Mike Testro