Monday, April 20, 2015

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows"- Sydney. J. Harris

Let me tell you about my experience at mbh training. I was first introduced to mbh training by attending the certificate iv in project management course. The first thing I noticed was how broad the industries were amongst the students. There were projects managers from industries such as construction, community services, and information technology all in the class (that's a whole lot of knowledge and experience in one room!).



So how did this help me with my project management course?

First of all, prior to this course, I didn't have any experience with project management, like a few of the students did (and I wasn't alone). I was fresh to this industry, so there was a lot to take in. I found it so intriguing listening to the experiences of the other students. The trainer (Jack Peck) delivered the course in such an engaging way, I always looked forward to coming to each course day, his experiences also helped me with the course. The course structure and the way he related most of the learning outcomes with his own experience in the industry, gave myself and the students, real life example and situations where we could apply the knowledge that he passed onto us.

Towards the end of the course, I found a good balance of information, knowledge and experiences. The way a course and education should be delivered.

So why not turn those mirrors into windows...

Thursday, April 02, 2015

mbh is here to guide you

Over the past 15 years mbh have maintained contact with many of our mbh students, and just this week I was able to assist two past students with their project management careers.

With both students at opposite ends of the project management spectrum:

- one discussing a job application for a move from running projects to running a program management office

- the other to debrief on their first project and discuss the challenges they faced.

What does that mean to the mbh student ? 

If a student wants to continue to develop post classroom and actually take that step, then what better way to talk to those they know, who have taught them and assessed their work. Their facilitators understand their levels of project management maturity, get to know them and can provide direction to help them continue to grow and develop their project management practices.

Guidance, mentor ship, call it what you will, it provides mbh students a sounding board with links to traditional, new and the most appropriate project management practices for them to utilise, there are many shoes that fit!

mbh links to project management practitioners across a variety of industries, articles and books written by prominent project management professionals, knowledge of project management collaborative software, upcoming conferences, offers the students a range information they can access to expand their skills and knowledge and awareness of what is occurring within project management.

mbh links to project management practitioners across a variety of industries, articles and books written by prominent project management professionals , knowledge of project management collaborative software, upcoming conferences, offers the students a range information they can access to expand their skills and knowledge and awareness of what is occurring within project management.

What does that mean for mbh

We are able to remain connected to our students, gain feedback from them, discuss their experiences, what works , what does not - open their eyes to new tools and techniques they can utilise in their working environments. mbh assist our students to develop their careers and continue to support them post classroom.

Student feedback is an important component, along with industry recommendations, mbh staff knowledge and experiences to continually refine our courses. This ensures the tools and new theories that are incorporated reflect what is actually required by practising professionals, not just those that are reflected in the competency standards.

Student feedback is an important component, along with industry recommendations, mbh staff knowledge and experiences to continually refine our courses. This ensures the tools and new theories that are incorporated reflect what is actually required by practising professionals , not just those that are reflected in the competency standards.

What does that mean for me?

Guidance by the mbh team has been a major part of my own personal development- Guidance by the mbh team has been a major part of my own person development - November this year sees my 15 year work anniversary, I have beaten my usual 7 1/2 year itch, which was the length of time in my first two jobs. mbh has provided many challenges, both personally and professionally and I have been able to grow my own capability, and watch and share in our students growing theirs.

The fact students continue to connect with mbh whether they trained 10 or 2 years ago tells me that we got it right. Our passion comes through, the time we spend to support people in the classroom and throughout their assessment and beyond is valuable to all parties. It translates back to the workplace, our students earn their qualifications and we know they can apply the skills they have learnt instantly, improving their project planning and delivery, and ensuring those lessons learnt are shared.


Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Welcome to our new website!

We are excited to announce the release of our brand new website for mbh training!

When I first stumbled across mbh training, I thought, the website needed to capture the essence of what mbh training is all about. There is a lot of passion and guidance in the steps towards a project management qualification with mbh, so what better way to express this than through a fresh new website design!

We thought the butterfly was a great symbol to represent mbh training. We like to think of it as a metamorphosis process. mbh training, guides you from the very beginning, till the butterflies (students) fly effortlessly into their career in project management, with the knowledge and confidence that they need.


"Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will 
require not just small adjustments in your way of living and 
thinking but a full on metamorphosis."- Martha Beck

You will find it a lot easier to be guided through our website, and we've also added something a little extra! The new website features interviews with one of our trainer's Jack Peck. We wanted to give you a glimpse of the knowledge and experience of our trainers here at mbh training.

Why not check it out for yourself!


Enjoy! We look forward to training you soon!

3.. 2.. 1..  Launch!



Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Students guidance and support all the way - its a requirement not an option.

We have found mbh students are keen to get in the classroom and learn new skills, tools, techniques and project management methodologies.

We often get the...

"WOW, that stakeholder analysis is simple and yet informative", "the network diagram has opened my eyes"  
"if only I had these tools when I was on the last project"
or 
"it's great to share experiences with people from other industries, they face the same issues we do".

Students thrive in this environment, bringing to the table all their knowledge and experiences, and absorbing new information. More often than not, they relate to having the same issues occurring on their projects, no matter what industry they are working in.

What happens once they finish face to face classroom activities?

At the end of the course students are always keen to get the assessments finished and say "we will get back to you within the month, I want to get this done and dusted!"

However, once out of that classroom, and back to their daily routines - assessments are not their priority, their work and home life comes first! Understandably, however sometimes there is confusion, as assessments are based on practical application of a work place based project- this aims to make the process a bit easier towards assessment completion. We want students to use their current knowledge, and introduce the new tools they have learnt, where applicable.

So, what's the issue with assessment completion?

Well, our experience at mbh training over the past 15 years, tells us, unless you engage with your students within 8 weeks of leaving that classroom, and organise a face to face meeting in their workplace, or regular phone hook ups- you will not get the assessment in the near future - maybe when the deadline date is close, and student syndrome rears it's ugly head, or not at all. 

The question I often ask is what can we do to get them through?

As students and companies commit to the training, as educators, and RTO's, we must provide that support, and actually take the time out to communicate to our students to assist them, answer questions, provide where possible assistance and samples. We need to undertake a collaborative approach, and get in touch with students, understand their business, and the types of projects they are working on. One size does not fit all in the land of projects.

Where we are able, if education is driven by the business, we should contact company HR managers, learning development partners and the like. mbh have found if we all work together to assist and encourage people to complete their assessment, they will get the qualification they are working toward.

Finally, if a student earns the qualification, we can see the value in improving their project management toolkits, they know they have put in the effort, and their work is recognised. As project management educators introducing traditional and new concepts to challenge the norm, companies will, over time, improve their methodologies and most importantly, find out what works for them and grow the project management maturity at an individual and company level.

As students - contact us, ask us to help, get that feedback - you deserve it.