Demand for project managers on the rise in India

This article from the “India Economic Times” seems to indicate that despite the overall global downturn of the economy,that the hiring of project managers is still on the rise in India.

As the article indicates:

Staffing firms attest to an increase in demand for the role. “The role of a project manager is sector-neutral, and we are witnessing an increase of 10-12% in demand for project managers across industries,” says E Balaji, managing director and chief executive officer of Randstad India. “Greenfield projects are coming up in sectors like construction and auto. Some of the auto companies are setting up new plants and foraying into new states and need project managers. In spite of the slump in the construction industry, we are seeing a continuous demand for project managers,” he adds….

Staffing firm Teamlease is also seeing an increased demand for the profile for sectors like construction and engineering. “The role of a project manager has always been associated with the IT industry, but given the competitive scenario, this role has become critical across industries. Slowdown or no slowdown, companies realise that their existing projects will have to be executed and retained from competitors,” says Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and senior VP, TeamLease Services. “With a project manager, understanding their customers becomes better for clients and delivery improves,” she says.

Raj Kalady, MD of certification association Project Management Institute (PMI), refers to it as a slowdown-proof role. “When the going is good, the pressure is on the project manager to deliver. When times are tough, the pressure is on cost. The project manager has to survive and deliver within stipulated costs. Irrespective of the state of economy, a good project manager will always find a job and will be in demand,” he says.

PMI estimates that there will be over 2,00,000 project managers in the country this year and that India needs at least 5,00,000 by 2016-17 to meet the demand. Industry experts estimate that sectors like IT, engineering, telecom, infrastructure, banking and pharma have a significant demand and are continuing to hire.

It doesn’t surprise me to read about such growth for the project management profession in India where they have dominated the service and outsourcing sector that is driven by new projects and initiatives.  With the rise of the middle class there will be a rise in internal projects for auto manufacturing, infrastructure and constructions for homes, autos and roads for all those rising new middle class people.  Its a prosperity cycle that feeds itself giving rise to more and more new projects and the demand for those who can manage them in tandem.

It will be nice to see a similar prosperity cycle in the US too!