Primavera Training: Is it Worth it?
Is it worth spending time on project management training, especially in learning technical skills like Oracle Primavera P6 Professional?
The short answer is: Yes!
Primavera P6 is world-leading, industry-standard software in many industries around the world. Wherever you are based, you can be sure that companies near you are relying on Oracle products to deliver their projects.
It most definitely is worth the time and investment to learn this powerful project management tool. Here’s why.
1. Increased job opportunities
The more skills you can list on your resume, the more roles will be open to you. You’ll have the opportunity to apply for a wider range of jobs because you will meet the application criteria.
It’s true that not all companies use the Oracle suite of products, but many industries rely on Primavera P6 Professional or EPPM (Enterprise Project Portfolio Management). Construction, engineering, large-scale tech, pharma, utilities and more: many high-paying project roles in exciting firms will expect you to have Primavera skills. Why not shortcut the learning curve at your new job and take an online Primavera course while you are job hunting?
Knowing Primavera P6 can also help you move between industries with more ease. It’s a professionally-built, widely-used enterprise project management tool. While it might be used in different ways at different employers, the basics always stay the same and you’ll be well-placed to get started quickly in your new role.
2. Higher salary
Having Primavera P6 training can also help you negotiate a higher rate of pay. The Great Resignation is making it harder for companies to find suitable candidates, so trained and experienced candidates are in demand. Being able to say you bring the required skills to the role is an extra benefit for employers – one that could be worth an increased rate of pay.
Even if you opt to stay in your current position, your new skills may allow you to take on larger and more complex projects, be responsible in different ways for project planning and lead different aspects of the work. That’s got to be worth a conversation about a salary increase at your next performance review!
3. Ability to operate in more roles
As a project manager, you will be hands on with the project schedule on a day-to-day basis. For that, you might only need to know the very basics of how to enter and update tasks. However, what happens when the data you see isn’t quite what you expected?
A detailed knowledge of Primavera P6 will help you dig into the data and understand where things might be going wrong. The more scheduling knowledge you have, the easier it will be for you to interpret reports – and support your project teams.
In addition, good system knowledge can help you help your colleagues as well. For example, advanced Primavera training will show you how to import and export from spreadsheets, make global changes, work in the admin screens and manage user profiles. All of these skills mean you don’t have to rely on a scheduler or system administrator – get your work done faster and without having to delegate simple activities to your colleagues.
4. More confidence
Learning by watching YouTube videos will only get you so far. Primavera is complex software that can take many years to master – especially if you are trying to teach yourself through trial and error! Who has got time for that?
Speed up your learning and your journey to being a confident power user and take the training.
You’ll grow in confidence and will soon be customizing your Gantt charts, setting up project structures, creating user defined fields and creating advanced reports. With that level of self-assurance, you’ll be streaming ahead of your peers and saving valuable time by using advanced features.
5. Better stakeholder communications
You know that feeling where someone asks you to explain a data point on a report and you freeze? Primavera training can make that feeling go away! You will learn how to create views and reports that present data in a way that you can understand and explain – and that others can grasp quickly too.
When you know how the data is created, analyzed and reported, you can be more confident in your presentations and in sharing project performance insights with key stakeholders. You can respond to questions knowing that you have the answers to hand without having to defer to anyone else or going away to work it out.
Overall, the investment in Primavera P6 Professional or EPPM software training is definitely worth it. There are many training courses to choose from, and there is a time and money commitment involved. However, with targeted online training, the learning process is simple – even if you don’t have access to Primavera P6 at work or home (with our courses, you get access to our Primavera environment for hands-on exercise and practical learning).
Whether you are refreshing your skills with the latest version of the tool, or checking it out for the first time as you take your first role as a project management professional, there are plenty of reasons why you should take another look at Primavera P6 training.