Strengthening Project Management Skills for Life Around the World
The strategic partnership between JA Worldwide and the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF) empowers young people to unlock their potential through project management.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), project management is the practice of leading a team to achieve specific project goals within given constraints. Young people who master project management skills become adept at communications, negotiations, time management, risk management, problem solving, teamwork, and more. As is the case with young people, seasoned staff members from any organization—including JA—benefit from project management training.
PMIEF volunteers support JA in five regions and the global headquarters through programs and certified training in project management, project coordination, coaching, education, and AI, among others.
In Africa, PMIEF offers the Best Application of Project Management Award during its regional Company of the Year competition, awarded to the student team that most effectively use the tools of project management to create and sustain its business. In addition, operational staff from the region participated in the “JA Africa Program Managers” project management training, JA member country executive directors took the “One Year Project Management” training, and both groups participated in the “Project Management Training.”
In the Americas region, PMIEF offers the Project Success Award at the annual Company of the Year competition, recognizing the JA student company that best exhibits a mastery of project management skills throughout the competition. During 2023, 80 team members from 10 countries in the region participated in the “Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)” exam preparation course, which provided the JA Americas network with additional tools to enable growth and improve proposal and initiative development.
At the JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year competition, students participated in the Project Management Essentials seminar from PMIEF. PMIEF also trained regional staff members through the “Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)” course, and JA local area staff members participated in “General Project Management Skills and Knowledge.”
One staff member from JA Philippines reflected on the training: “I deal with so many projects and I manage my team. This training really opened my eyes to the many aspects we must consider when managing a project, including risk, which is something I never thought about before.”
In partnership with PMIEF, JA Europe presented the Best Application of Project Management Award at GEN-E, the region’s annual entrepreneurship expo. "Project management skills are so important for young people to learn,” noted Marcel Michaliak from winning student company Sodehal (JA Slovakia). “It really helped us to develop and deliver our product, especially the time management and communication skills we learned. With these skills we were able to keep our plans on track and make sure everyone was working towards the same objective."
Olivier Lazar, COO of PMIEF and VP of Social & Community Impact at PMI, agrees: "It is such a privilege and honor to be part of an event like this. These young people are incredible and I am blown away by their skills and creativity. In ensuring we meet the difficult challenges our society faces it is more important now than ever that we can support and mentor such wonderful young people and provide them with the project management skills that will ensure their projects continue to be successful."
More than 500 staff members from Europe also participated in multiple project management courses supported by 54 PMIEF volunteers and Dell Technologies facilitators.
In the MENA region, PMIEF established the Excellence in Project Management Award, which recognizes the student company that showcases the most innovative and viable project model at the Youth Entrepreneurship Celebration, the region’s annual JA Company Program competition and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The partnership enrolled 60 regional staff in the “Customized Non-certified Project Management” course, and more than 25% went on to complete the “PMP Certification Course.”
More than 60 JA staff members from around the world participated in “Project Management Skills for Life” at the biennial JA Worldwide Global Leadership Conference (GLC) virtual edition. At the in-person edition of GLC, nearly 300 JA leaders attended the “AI and Education: The Next Frontier” panel with PMIEF and the “Navigating PMIEF’s Global Impact” workshop. Starting in spring 2024, JA Worldwide headquarters staff will participate in PMIEF’s “Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)” training.