Everybody now wants to be a project manager
Investment banks' renewed appetite to kick start IT initiatives this year has seen a swell in demand for project managers in the City. Techies in more junior roles taking upon themselves to up-skill in a bid to capitalise on this, and secure a potentially more lucrative position.
Business analysts and IT staff in more technical roles are now paying for their own training in areas like project and programme management in attempt to move up the career ladder, suggests Mark Weller, director of project and change management at Hays City.
"The investment banks that performed well last year are investing in IT infrastructure and there's growing need for project managers across the board," he says. "But it's still incredibly competitive and banks are being more selective about who they take on. People are funding their own training because they view now as an opportunity to secure long-term and interesting projects."
Weller is quick to point out that prior experience of financial technology is a must, and that it's merely a chance to move up a rank rather than walk into a project management role from scratch.
But those who succeed can expect pay rise - project manager roles come in at 75-90k, whereas BA positions can range between 65-80k, according to a salary survey by recruiters The JM Group.
Melanie Franklin, CEO of Maven Training, which offers project, programme and change management courses, says: "A couple of years ago, having a project management qualification would have given you a distinct advantage. But now it's reached tipping point - if you don't have this under your belt, firms will wonder why and be unlikely to employ you for these roles."
Investment banks also haven't exactly been kind to IT contractors over the last 18 months. Those that survived the cull were forced to accept a daily rate cut of 12-15% and so-far this shows no sign of moving in the other direction.
"This training gives you the green light to take on additional responsibility, which is about the only way you can negotiate a rate increase in the current environment," adds Franklin.
