DWP

Project Management Training for Department for Works & Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), formerly the Department of Social Security, which delivers welfare benefits throughout the country, made the strategic decision to introduce a Project Management methodology. Following a competitive tendering exercise Parity was asked to develop and deliver PRINCE2™ training for staff across the country.

In line with the DWP's commitment to staff development, and to demonstrate its 'Investors in People' status, each training course led to an industry-recognised accreditation exam and subsequent qualification for DWP staff.

A Tailored Approach
Working as a training partner, Parity customised pre-course questionnaires for DWP staff to enable delegates with like-minded needs and similar technical experience to be scheduled on training sessions together. Parity's experienced course developers customised training material and course structures to build on the training that the DWP had received to date. The course materials were DWP-branded and exercises and scenarios were realistic and relevant to DWP projects. All courses were approved by the Association for Project Management Group and authorised as suitable to guide students to their APMG-accreditation exams.

The DWP promoted the upcoming training with marketing material and Intranet bulletins to ensure that staff were aware of the objectives of the training programme and the upcoming activities.

Training the Project Managers
1,800 members of staff have attended PRINCE2™ training sessions to date, some novices to the project management discipline, some with experience of working in project teams or running projects. The delegates came from divisions throughout the Department and demonstrated a variety of training needs. After an initial pilot-training period, it was decided that 5-day residential courses would be the best solution, enabling delegates to focus on the training without interruption and to gain additional mentoring where needed as they worked to prepare for their exams.

Administration and Logistics
Parity Training's Managed Services Division (MSD) was responsible for the scheduling of all training sessions and for organising the residential locations throughout the project. To keep costs at a reasonable level, the MSD negotiated the best possible hotel room rates for the DWP staff and closely monitored the project costs at every stage. The MSD scheduled all delegates onto courses, following the approval procedure agreed in advance with the DWP Training Mangers. All delegates received joining instructions, course outlines and a PRINCE2™ summary from the MSD and were given a contact number for any queries or concerns.

A Dedicated Training Team
To ensure that each training course was delivered to the same standard, a dedicated pool of Parity consultants was selected to work on the DWP project. Each was briefed about the specifics of the project, the DWP best practice guidelines and the customisation of the courseware. The team members were picked because of their suitability for the training, their project management knowledge and their work experience - the majority of training consultants on this pool had a civil service background. Eddie Kilkelly, who worked as part of the Parity training pool, is convinced that this approach enhanced the training delivered.

Helping Staff Reach Their Goals
The training courses were successful and positive feedback was received from the delegates as well as from their training managers.

said one member of staff who attended the 5-day event.

To assist delegates as they prepared for the examinations, a telephone helpline was established so that delegates could obtain information about topics they had been learning and assistance with revision. Although the pass rate was good, to accommodate and support any delegate who did not pass the exam and achieve accreditation on the first sitting, Parity provided a 2-day exam retake course.

Maintaining Training Quality
An MSD Manager was assigned to oversee the training from start to finish and provide management reports throughout. Quarterly review meetings encouraged both the DWP and Parity to re-examine the effectiveness of the courses, to consider the course feedback and the exam results. With a focus on delivering the highest quality training, the MSD Manager acted as a liaison between all those involved in the programme and facilitated resolutions to any issue and highlighted any opportunity.

The Future of the Partnership
Parity has provided the DWP with a training solution for PRINCE2™ for two and a half years. As the companies head towards the third year of running a successful training partnership, both are confident in the process they have established.

said Liz Keogh, Manager of the MSD,

The Directorate of Project Management's Training Manager within DWP agrees: