The second wave of the COVID19 Corona Virus has struck, and it continues to cause mayhem across nations. With the number of deaths mounting, it has become a serious health challenge for the globe. What is also very concerning is that it is also causing significant damage to various economic sectors. If you are in the project management field, you too might be pretty worried about the many challenges you may be faced with. So let us take a look at how this global pandemic is likely to impact the project management field. 

The resilience of project managers

There are three things that those in project management can be certain about during these turbulent times. First, there will always be projects; the need for skills such as ours is ever-increasing given today’s rapidly changing world. Second, our field of expertise–project management–has long been known to have one more transferable skill: it thrives on challenges and changes just like a pandemic does! Thirdly, post-pandemic recovery needs people who know how to plan out an effective strategy and execute with precision…which means that competent project managers would be in high demand in the post-pandemic scenario.

Joint Survey Carried out by PMI and Project Business Foundation

To find out about the impact of the global pandemic on project management, a joint study was undertaken by the PMI and the Project Business Foundation. In the past, projects were often treated as individual entities. But in today’s world of cross-corporate enterprises and digital workplaces where everything is interconnected, these projects cannot operate independently. Still, they must work together for a unified goal – to boost productivity across industries. 

Job Losses

Much like all other sectors, it is being seen that the COVID-19 crisis has created unemployment rates that are higher than the national average of 5%. In particular, qualified respondents who have lost their jobs due to this pandemic are at 6%, while another 11% are unemployed for other reasons. Among those surveyed from organizations providing project management services, 1 in 4 believe they will be laid off, and 16% think they’ll lose their job due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Project Managers without PMP Certification likely to impacted more due to the pandemic

It is being seen that a higher proportion of practitioners who are not PMI members (38%) say their contracts are not at all likely to be renewed versus current PMI member practitioners (20%). Apart from this, it is also to be noted that one-third of the cohort is confident that their projects will realize more than 75% of their intended benefits.

On interacting with the project managers, too, many thought that the business impact is diverse on different organizations that they work for. Many believe that the pandemic has caused massive disruption. Along with the same, the vulnerability of businesses has become evident now. The trickle-down effect is likely to cause the inevitable reaction to cut costs which include salaries. 

To conclude, we can indeed say that much like all other sectors, the project management sector too has been adversely affected by the COVID19 Corona Virus pandemic. But if you are into project management, the need for you to have the PMP exam certification now is now most needed like never before. In line with this, you now need to look out for the best online PMP Exam prep course. It is what would enable you to some extent survive the current crisis.