Self-test: Is a course at the "Project Assistant with Certificate (IPMA Level D)" level the right one for me?
Analysis of the functions/activities of project assistants
For whom is the "Project Assistant with Certificate (IPMA Level D)" course suitable?
- Employees who are involved in projects or are intended to be involved in projects and would like to acquire basic skills in project work.
- People from all professions who have no or already have some project experience and would like to learn the basics and methodology of project management for smaller and simpler projects.
What does the day-to-day work within these functions look like? Which activities are carried out and how often?
Project assistants are the organizational and administrative hub of projects. They handle project-related correspondence with customers, authorities, suppliers and internal departments, coordinate appointments, monitor resource planning and manage the time reports of project staff. They are the first point of contact for concerns and inquiries from the team, customers, internal services and other parties involved.
Job descriptions in job advertisements for project assistants and project staff:
| Main tasks | Frequency in % |
|---|---|
| Administrative and organizational support for project management and the project team, correspondence and quotations, contact person for team, clients and management | 60% |
| Collaboration in the project (data maintenance, creation of reports, evaluations, statistics, presentations, project post-calculations, invoice control) | 15% |
| Create, prepare and manage project-specific documentation and documents. Manage and compile training documentation, final documentation | 15% |
| Other tasks such as: Assisting with customer service, supporting sales and marketing, ordering and managing work equipment | 10% |
The weighting of the individual areas of responsibility can vary greatly depending on the company.
Typical requirements in job advertisements:
- Commercial training with several years of professional experience or completed technical apprenticeship in the field of application of the project
- Professional experience as a project assistant
- Several years of experience in project control and reporting
- Very good written and spoken German
- Depending on the environment: very good knowledge of English, French and Italian
- Very good MS-Office user knowledge
- Further training with a higher technical diploma, technical school or equivalent knowledge and skills.
- Organizational talent with a positive attitude and high resilience
- Independent, service-oriented and precise way of working
- Driver's license
Question 1:
Do the activities of project assistants meet my expectations?
Yes, if you like the actual job, you can assume that you are on the right track thematically. The next question is what type of training is right for you to acquire the relevant skills.
If you have marked "Partly" or "No", you should consider another job within a company or check whether you would fit into another function level based on your previous education.
Course description "Project Assistant with certificate (IPMA Level D)"
The most important key points of a "Project Assistant with Certificate (IPMA Level D)" course are described here:
Course description "Project Assistant with certificate (IPMA Level D)"
Question 2:
Are you generally interested in a project course at this level?
If you are interested in such a course but answered "partly" or "no" to question 1, you should try to find out whether there are other types of jobs that you could do with this training and that you like better than the job profile described in question 1.
If you have already answered "yes" to question 1, then a course of this type seems to fit your expectations.
If you like the job description under question 1 and you have marked "No" here, you should try to analyze which contents of the course would appeal to you and which would not. And with what you find out, you can look at the following further training opportunities in related fields to see if you can find something that better suits your interests:
- Management secretary (cert.)
- Management (Cert.)
- Management Non Profit Organization (Cert.)
- Organizational consultant (cert.)
- Process Manager (Cert.)
- Quality manager (certified)
- Quality management in social and health care (cert.)
- Social manager (certified)
- NDS HF Construction Project and Real Estate Management
- NDS HF Project Management and Leadership
- CAS Human Resources / Organization (FH)
- DAS Process and Logistics Management (FH)
Prerequisites at the time of starting the course / examination
- IPMA Level D: Neither experience in project management nor a specific school-leaving qualification or professional qualification is required
- Project Manager SIZ: Minimum age 20, at least 3-year apprenticeship or high school diploma, commercial diploma or higher degree and one year of project experience
- Klubschul DIPLOMA: Vocational training or higher education, several years of professional experience, project experience if possible
- School's own certificate: Often a completed apprenticeship and at least 2 years of professional experience are required, project experience is usually not a requirement but desirable
Question 3:
Do I meet the requirements?
If you meet the requirements, you can start training or preparing for certification at the earliest possible date.
If you have marked "Partly" or "No", you should clarify your options for fulfilling the requirements (further information in the final evaluation at the end of the self-test) or consider another course.
Financing of further training
The course fees for a "Project Assistant with Certificate" course must be paid either at the beginning of the course or by the semester. However, in individual cases it is also possible to agree individual installment payments.
Question 4:
Are you able to finance between CHF 2,500 and CHF 5,900, depending on the course and type of school, for the course, teaching materials, final examinations plus expenses for travel and meals?
If you have marked "Yes" and would even be able to pay the full amount upfront, some schools will give you an additional discount.
If you have marked "Partial" or "No": Ask the schools about the possibility of individual installment payments. Or try to get your employer to make a contribution to your further education costs or find someone in your private social circle who will support your specific further education project with a loan. There are also banks and credit institutions that grant educational loans.
Time spent on classroom teaching and learning (homework)
The course lasts one to two semesters while working. The time required for classroom teaching is 4 to 10 hours per week (there are different course models, such as evening courses or Saturday courses).
The learning effort (homework) amounts to around 4 to 6 hours per week in addition to school lessons.
Question 5:
Can I cope with the time and effort required for the face-to-face lessons and homework?
If the workload is even very manageable for you, you could check whether there are intensive courses for this training. This would allow you to complete the same training in less time if you are able to accept a slightly higher time commitment.
If you are short on time, look for courses that extend over a longer period of time and require fewer lessons and less time for homework each week. And if that's still not enough, you should check whether you can free up more time in another way. Perhaps someone close to you can take on certain tasks for you for the limited period of your training?
Conclusion
Will I graduate?
- IPMA Level D: The IPMA certification consists of a self-assessment and a written, three-hour examination on the subject areas of project management competencies, behavioral competencies and project management context competencies. The examination contains a total of 100 multiple-choice questions and 9 text tasks, which together result in a maximum of 190 points. A pass is achieved with 114 points or more.
- SIZ project manager: The SIZ project manager training consists of three modules. Each module concludes with a 60 to 90-minute module examination, which is taken online. The diploma is issued when all three module examinations have been passed. A module examination can be repeated three times within two years. The best result is counted at the end.
- Klubschul DIPLOMA: There is an individual electronic examination of 90 minutes and a case study that must be worked on and presented in groups
- School's own certificate: the following conditions are customary for the award of the school's own certificate/diploma: attendance of 80% of the course lessons, participation in intermediate examinations, completed group, semester or diploma thesis, passing the final oral examination on the diploma thesis)
Question 6:
Do I have the confidence to pass the exams and certificates of competence?
If you are confident that you can pass this qualification, the most you can do is consider whether you would like to achieve even better results using suitable learning and working methods or whether you would like to achieve the same results with less effort.
If you have marked "Partly" or "No", you should think about what exactly it is that is giving you trouble. Do you have difficulty with multiple-choice questions on the computer? Or do you not like working in groups? Or are you unsure whether you already have enough practical experience? Then you can take another look at the different types of project management courses to see if there are any that do not contain these parts that are problematic for you. Or talk to a school or course instructor and ask how the school can offer you additional support. If you have intense exam anxiety, you could try intensive exam training first, or if that doesn't work, look for a different type of course that works more with learning achievements, mid-term exams or semester work. External help from learning therapists, kinesiologists, autogenic training providers or mental training providers can also be considered.
You can find suitable providers here:
Receive course or training documents from suitable schools immediately
Under the following links you will find an overview of schools that offer a course at the "Project Assistant with Certificate (IPMA Level D)" level. You can request detailed documents with one click and usually receive them directly by e-mail. You can also use the area search to find providers in your immediate vicinity.
- Project management (cert.)
- Project Assistant IPMA Level D / Project Manager SIZ (Certified)
- Project Manager IPMA Level D (Certified)
Conclusion:
Before you want to complete a course at the "Project Assistant with Certificate (IPMA Level D)" level, you should be convinced that you really enjoy working as a project assistant. The course description should also appeal to you. If you have answered these first two questions with a clear "yes", you can look into these courses further. If you are unsure about these questions, you should consider which other further training courses are also suitable for you.
If you do not meet the admission requirements of a provider because you do not yet have any project experience, ask your employer whether they would allow you to take on an additional task as a project employee. Or look for a new job in your usual profession with a company that handles a lot of orders in the form of projects and where you can gain initial experience as a project employee. Or take a look at the admission requirements of other schools. Not all of them require project experience for entry.
If you do not meet the requirements because you do not have a basic education, it may be useful to clarify with an educational or career counselor whether it would help you in the long term if you first learn a basic occupation. If you have a foreign qualification, you should ask several schools or the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (www.sbfi.ch) whether your training is recognized as equivalent so that you can be admitted to the course.
Financing further education is not always easy. Several thousand francs have to be paid over 1-2 semesters. Many schools offer the option of semesterly or even individual monthly installments in individual cases, so that the entire amount does not have to be paid at once. In addition, it is helpful for part-time courses that participants continue to work during the course and thus earn money for the entire duration of the course. If this is not enough to finance the training alone, it is sometimes possible to obtain a loan from a private source. Banks and credit institutions sometimes also offer educational loans. A good argument for financing further education is the relatively quick amortization of costs through wage increases. Do the following calculation: How much would a wage increase of 10% per year amount to? How many years do you need to recoup the costs of the course? How much more will you earn over your entire working life as a result of this pay rise? In most cases, this is a six-figure sum, which confirms that training or further education is the best personal investment there is.
The time required for training or further education should not be underestimated. Going out, vacations and spontaneous wellness weekends often fall by the wayside. However, this time usually passes relatively quickly. The prospect of better job opportunities and more pay should be motivation enough to get through this time. It often helps to organize yourself into study groups. It also makes sense to stick with it right from the start and schedule fixed study times. Good learning effects can be achieved by creating summaries and mind maps. Flashcard systems help with memorization. There are many tools and ideas to make learning easier. You can obtain the guide "The personal learning strategy" free of charge if you register with a school via Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch.
If you have doubts about whether you will pass the final exam or the certification measures, you can expect that every school has an interest in ensuring that as many of your students as possible pass the final exams. Talk to your head teacher or course leader and ask about support options. Or find out in advance about the exact framework conditions and possible alternatives. But always assume that with good motivation, perseverance and hard work, it is generally possible to pass these exams. If you suffer from exam anxiety, good preparation, various practical tips, therapeutic treatments or, in severe cases, even medication can help. You can obtain the guide "Overcoming exam anxiety" if you register with a school via Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch. Here you will also findsuitable providerson the subject of test anxiety.
The benefits of further training are usually measured in terms of a higher salary, more challenging tasks or promotions. This presupposes that you make an effort to change your professional position accordingly and, if necessary, are able to assert your demands. If you have already experienced that this is not always so easy for you, you could also check whether personal job coaching could be of benefit to you in addition to further training.
Now it's up to you to decide. If in doubt, seek personal advice from a school or external advice center. If you enquire about course or training documents via www.ausbildung-weiterbildung.ch, you will receive a free educational or school consultation worth CHF 150.00 on request.
You can find a list of providers here:
- Project management (cert.)
- Project Assistant IPMA Level D / Project Manager SIZ (Certified)
- Project Manager IPMA Level D (Certified)
We wish you all the best in your professional and private lives and a bright and exciting future!
The team of Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch
Linda, deine Weiterbildungsfinderin