Furloughed PMOs

Ever since the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was announced by the UK Government in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and as a result many employees had to come to terms with a new employment status – a furloughed worker.

A great source of information has been the CIPD (the human resources professional body) and they continue to keep us up to date with all the latest news and changes.

Throughout this period, furloughed workers have been able to take up training – as long as the training “does not provide services to, or generate revenue for, or on behalf of their company or a linked or associated company.”

Undertaking training whilst furloughed is bringing some great benefits – it’s good to see the positives in this situation – both for individual practitioners and PMO teams.

Furloughed PMO Practitioners

For individuals, this is the opportunity to pick up training and address the skills gaps in their experiences, we were often pushed for time in the old world and now we have time – or at least pockets of time around family life and homeschooling.

One thing we learnt in the last period of upheaval – the recession back in 2008 – was that many practitioners had neglected their self-development and when the market became more competitive because there were so many more applicants for roles – it was the ones with the qualifications that made it to the shortlists – with many others missing out.

Now might be the time to pick up your P3O® qualification or some of the more popular portfolio, programme and project management qualifications.

If you’re able to self-fund, great – if not, it’s time to make the case to your employer, we have a training justification guide to help you.

Furloughed PMO Teams

As a PMO Manager, you and your whole team may be furloughed right now but that doesn’t stop you being able to train together.

Now is an ideal opportunity to request training that focuses on bringing the team back together; increasing their knowledge and motivation and getting ready for the new challenges that lay ahead in the coming months.

It could be a qualification like P3O® – or perhaps something more focused on the particular challenges your environment and industry are facing.

As a manager of the team, you, yourself will be able to pull together a training programme yourself for the team, using a mix of videoconferencing, offline exercises and curated sessions from interesting webinars you’ve watched yourself. If you need extra help, PMO Learning are here to support you.

You could even point them in the direction of sessions like PMO Flashmob’s weekly #PMOwfh which is designed to get you thinking, learning and interacting with PMO peers. PMO practitioners have found it a refreshing session to break up the week whilst keeping them engage with PMO insights.

Whilst the first few weeks after the Job Retention Scheme was announced left many in a state of shock and confusion; over the last few weeks we’re starting to see practitioners think more positively and start to make plans for the future. With virtual classroom training available from PMO Learning and eLearning on the most popular project management courses, we’re here to help you make the most of your furloughed time.

The P3O® courses on this page are offered by PMO Learning. P3O® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited. P3O® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.