Welcome to our April 2011 Newsletter...
Here is the Planning Planet Newsletter for April. We have some very exciting news for you...
International Guild of Project Planning, Controls & Delivery (PPCD):
We have been provided an update by the Guild Team and can report on progress as follows.
The Guild Team are concentrating on a template in the United Kingdom and will be rolling this out in Asia, Americas, Middle East and Africa as soon as possible (if you wish to help us with this please contact us at [email protected]):
- Guild Management is now in place with initial processes having been identified and documented
- Skill self-assessments are in place, with thousands of users having completed their initial assessments
- Manager skill reviews are in place, but the go-live on this has yet to be announced
- Skill appraisal tests have been identified and documentation is underway
- Knowledge appraisal tests have been identified and documentation is well on the road to becoming substantially complete
- Special Interest Groups are being introduced and gradually rolled out
- Discussions are ongoing with the professional bodies with respect to how we integrate and dovetail their existing offerings within the Guild.
- To date, there are already several thousand planners who have asked how they can begin the journey down the road to Guild Membership.
- The Guild will soon announce a very impressive list of global companies who are now supporting this initiative. If you believe your company should be involved, do get in touch and we can liaise with you etc.
A Guild Officers meeting (London based this time) is being scheduled for late May 2011, so more can be reported after this meeting.
If you wish to become involved in any way, please do contact us at [email protected] and we will pass on your ideas and requests.
Planning Planet will be hosting its own 'Planning Planet Zone' at Project Challenge at London, Olympia:
We see this as a great opportunity for our Community either through your Guild the GPPCD or PP itself, to meet and experience presentations from other members to issues you want to hear about over two days at the beginning of October 2011. We would like to hear from you! Send us at [email protected] your ideas for subject matter, perspective speakers etc as well as details of vendors or employers you’d like to hear from.
Planning Planet will also be exhibiting at the event, meet us and express your opinions and ideas directly, become a Guild Officer... whatever, thank you for your support and we look forward to meeting you!
Mingle with your peers! IT’S ALL FREE OF CHARGE!! Things don’t end here either: we will inform you of an exciting new format to Project Challenge ensuring other areas of interest at the event - you’re guaranteed a very worthwhile visit!
A Project Controls course sponsored by a Global Pharmaceutical:
You all know how we at PP value an initiative that reflects the efforts we are all making to develop Planning and Project Controls as a career path. Well, here are our friends at Glaxo SmithKline who have developed a course in Project Controls which also counts towards a Masters Degree at Birmingham University. If you like many others, lack formal qualification in Controls and wish others to know just how good you really are – this may be the answer! Contact Rebecca through PP and receive a £500 discount on the £2,000 overall price. Read more...
Of course you have the backing of a major multinational should you wish to attend and we see this as significant – after all has anyone else troubled themselves to do this?
Asta Development:
Did you know that:
- Asta have extended their sponsorship support for our Community? Read more...
- Asta have teamed up to offer a 2 Day course on Practical Management of Delay & Disruption? Read more...
- Have you read reasons why Asta works for all project management projects whatever the size? Read more...
- Did you know that Liverpool Habitat for Humanity uses Asta to build homes for the Liverpool community? Read more...
Synchro:
Did you know that our friends at Synchro have now renewed their support for the Planning Planet Community? Read more... After a very successful year with us we are pleased to announce that we will continue to work together to help spread the word about Synchro and their Building Information Modelling (BIM) solution. Synchro recently announced a three-year agreement with Mace for their use of Synchro Client and Server software worldwide in support of Mace's BIM project delivery capabilities. This is surely a large and welcomed step-forward in terms of industry's recognition of BIM.
Regional Face to Face Meetings:
As you may know, we have a growing number of our members who are liaising with us and helping organise regional Planning Planet meetings: We have meetings being arranged in the following locations:
- England - London
- Germany - Frankfurt
- Spain - Madrid
- China - Beijing, Shanghai
- India - Bangalor, Mumbai
- Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
- Middle East - Doha, Abu Dhabi
- New Zealand - Auckland,
- Australia - Perth, Brisbane
- Azerbaijan - Baku
The current open-for-registration meetings can be seen on our Events Listing, or on our Events Map. If you want to join our team of regional planners who are helping facilitate these meetings, then please contact us at [email protected]
Recruitment Watch:
Hello and welcome to the first installment of the Planning Recruitment Watch; provided by Project Resource Limited (UK).
Each month we will bring to you the latest trends in the Planning recruitment market in the UK (anyone want to help us in the international recruitment watch arena?), the regions, sectors and positions that are experiencing the highest demand. It’s our hope that you will read regularly and consider this information when making your next career move.
In the last month we have seen continuing demand, which has been a welcome change for Planners;
- An increase of approximately 10% has been seen across the UK with the majority of this new demand coming from companies either based, or with projects in central London or West London and the Thames Valley.
- There is still healthy demand in the South of England as well as the Midlands and the North.
- The split in demand between contract and permanent work has remained steady, with contract vacancies making up 30% of the current demand for planning professionals.
- At present the greatest demand is for planners at an intermediate stage in their careers, between 5 and 8 years experience.
- Clients are looking, in particular, for new hires to be able to hit the ground running, but who are looking to work in that role for several years before considering a move to senior planner or planning manager.
- One of the most significant trends we are seeing at present is for employers to move candidates from existing projects that are coming to completion onto new projects rather than make a new hire. Because of this, windows for consideration and interview can be very small indeed and we advise anyone actively seeking work to be as flexible as possible in your interview availability, even a day can make a difference!
- Lastly, demand for planners with utilities experience, particularly water, as well as nuclear experience is showing a noticeable rise even compared to other sectors in the last month.
Thank you for reading; we hope this has been of benefit to you. We encourage you to check out Project Resource's latest planning vacancies.
That's All: Be Proud of your Planning.... PP Team