Project Management Academy Graduates First Class

California state government agencies have billions of dollars worth of IT projects in the pipeline at any given time. And as of last week, the state has a new crop of freshly trained professionals to manage those projects.

The statewide Project Management Leadership Academy, designed specifically to equip state employees to be project managers, graduated its first class last week.

The academy follows in the footsteps of the state's Information Technology Leadership Academy (ITLA), which in October marked its 25th year and which has been an incubator for state CIOs, AIOs and other government IT leaders.

PMLA is designed for project managers with limited experience, as well as for those working in project support roles such as test managers, business analysts and contract managers, and who aspire to lead projects for the state. Participants are selected from state agencies and departments after being nominated by their executive team.

Gretchen Williams, deputy director of the California Department of Technology's Office of Professional Development, heads both academies. The executive sponsors are Cathy Cleek, the soon-to-retire CIO of the state Franchise Tax Board; and John Boule, director of the Office of Systems Integration at Health and Human Services.

“The Project Management Leadership Academy provided an invaluable experience for all of the participants,” Williams said in a statement to Techwire. “I am truly inspired by the individual growth I observed in every one of the students. Each of them modeled the way and demonstrated the value of ‘Leaning In’ on the opportunity.”

Participants spend 13 days over 11 weeks in classroom learning and receiving on-the-job mentoring experience on an IT project. The academy includes a project internship with a mentor at a participating department, and it offers a chance for participants to interact with top state IT executives as well as subject matter experts from the industry.

Skills and topics covered include the foundations of project management, governance, communications skills, team leadership, organizational change management, contract and vendor management, budgeting, procurement management and top project challenges, which the curriculum refers to as the “Dirty Dozen.”

According to Williams, the first class acquitted itself well.

“Our goals when developing PMLA were far exceeded by the first cohort,” she told Techwire, “and we are well on our way to building a strong foundation of skilled project management professionals across the state.”

The academy’s internship component “reinforces classroom training by providing on-the-job practical project experience and assignments to sharpen skills in relationship management, stakeholder engagement, team dynamics and leadership,” says the website. 

The academy is spotlighted in a short, peppy video overview, and details about applying are available on the CDT website. The PMLA application period is in late spring, usually beginning in mid-May. Additional information is also available on CDT’s blog page or by contacting Millie Waters.