Our MSc in Project Management helps students develop the skills and confidence necessary to manage projects to successful completion. By the end of this one-year course, students will be able to take an enquiring, analytical and creative approach to project management and find employment managing projects in a wide variety of industries. Effective project management is an essential part of any successful business, and project managers are responsible for planning and organising resources and people so that tasks can be completed on time, within budget, and to meet the outlined requirements. Students will need to complete six core modules and 20 additional credits to earn their PgDip. There are a number of courses that can count towards the other credits allowing students to choose based on their particular interests, past experiences and career goals. All students must also complete a dissertation to complete their master’s in project management, followed by the optional professional practice to earn their MSc Project Management (Professional Practice).
With a degree in project management, you can find a project manager job in almost any industry as well as several other roles to match your skill set, including the following…
What Jobs Can I Get?
Project managers are an important part of any business and project as they are tasked with planning, organising, and overseeing projects. They look at the six aspects that make up a project: scope, schedule, finance, risk, quality and resources to ensure the project is completed on time, on budget and within scope. The project manager manages every team member associated with the project and oversees the project from planning to implementation. At the end of the day, the project manager is often the person the company would see as being responsible for either the success or failure of a specific project.
Operations managers help businesses and organisations to increase their efficiency and achieve business goals. Depending on the size and needs of the company, the exact responsibilities of an operations manager can vary significantly but typically include tasks like supervising, hiring and training new employees, strategising and overseeing improvements, and managing other office-wide programs and tasks. Often this comes down to managing HR, assets such as the office, facilities, and stock if applicable, and finding opportunities to lower costs and save money.
Account managers are responsible for building and maintaining long-term relationships with customers. Depending on the size of the company, some account managers are tasked with finding new clients as well as working with them for the duration of their time with the company, whereas at other companies, there are other individuals responsible for finding clients, and the account manager will be assigned to the client once the account has been secured. Account managers oversee any necessary daily tasks and communication for and with the client, as well as being the point of contact for the client if they need anything or a problem arises.
Business developers work to drive new business to their company and identify new business opportunities to increase revenue. This can be done in a number of ways, from networking and finding new clients to developing new products and services. In order to do this, business developers spend a lot of their time doing market research looking for potential opportunities and creating as many partnerships as possible. Another big part of a business developer’s role is establishing and maintaining relationships with clients. This helps to find potential new clients as well as keep existing in the loop when it comes to new products and technologies they may benefit from. Business developers require strong communication and research skills as well as innovative problem-solving abilities in order to keep driving business to their company and increasing revenue.
Project managers are a vital part of keeping businesses across all industries up and running, here are just a few of the major companies with offices in the UK that you could work for...
What companies could I work for?
British Gas
British Gas is the largest energy supplier in the UK, supplying energy to more than 12 million homes around the country. The company was first founded in 1812 as the Gas Light and Coke Company and thrived and grew until the Gas Act of 1972, which saw the foundation of the British Gas Corporation. The company became private in 1986 as a result of the Gas Act of 1986 and entered the London stock market in December 1986 as British Gas plc. Since 1997, British Gas has been part of Centrica, which also owns Scottish Gas and Bord Gáis Energy. Today, Centrica and British Gas employ nearly 30000 individuals, including a number of project managers, to keep their supply chain fully operational.
HSBC
The second-largest bank in Europe, HSBC has more than 38 million customers, 3900 offices, and 225000 employees in 65 countries around the world. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was founded in 1865 after Hong Kong became a British colony. The company quickly grew and opened branches around Asia in countries like Japan and Thailand before expanding to the rest of the world. HSBC Holdings was founded in 1991, and shares of the company began trading on the London, Paris, Bermuda, Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges. HSBC’s UK headquarters is located in Birmingham, and they also have an office in London and employ project managers across a wide variety of departments, including in technology and HR.
Toyota
Toyota, which is headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, is one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers and makes more than 10 million vehicles each year. A number of those vehicles are made in the UK as there are two Toyota manufacturing plants in the country. There is a vehicle manufacturing plant in Derbyshire and an engine manufacturing plant in North Wales. Between the two UK plants, which have been open nearly 30 years, there are about 4000 employees. There are also a number of employees at Toyota’s GB Head Office in Epsom and their London office. Toyota has project managers who work across multiple divisions within the UK, including commercial projects, financial services, and IT.
Apple
Perhaps one of the most well-known companies in the world, Apple is both the world’s largest technology company by revenue and the world’s most valuable company. Apple was founded in 1976, and their first product, Apple I, was a computer that lacked a keyboard, monitor and case and sold for just over $650, which is equivalent to about £2200 today. By 1980, the company had grown to $118 million in annual sales. Over the next 25 plus years, the company continued to release new computers and experienced highs and lows, including being only a few weeks from bankruptcy in 1997. In 2007, Apple changed from Apple Computer Inc to Apple Inc to signify their change in focus from solely computers to consumer electronics and announced the very first iPhone. Now, Apple has almost 150000 employees and more than 500 retail locations around the world. Their UK-based project managers work on everything from Salesforce to engineering and technical readiness.
