How to become the youngest Chartered Project Professional ever

Bel French, project manager at Gleeds, was told she was throwing her career away by skipping university, but she has beaten all the records anyway. Charles Orton-Jones finds out more.

Everyone loves a record breaker. In 2021, APM hailed the youngest ever project manager to become a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP). Stacey Bishop of Babcock International ran through the curriculum at warp speed to win the accolade at the age of 24. Now, a year later, the record has been smashed by Bel French, who achieved chartered status at just 22. Talking to French, it’s easy to see why she’s made rapid progress. Calm and eloquent, she’s also a devoted project manager who simply loves the job.

“I actually struggled quite a bit with studying at school,” she admits. “Project work was different. I got really excited at school when there was anything to do with projects. I’d get competitive and loved to get involved,” she says. Her desire to escape the classroom meant she wanted to skip university and go direct to a job. She researched her options and stumbled across the vocational route. “I looked at apprenticeships and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, no way can you do that as a career!’”

Real responsibility right from the start

Even better, with project management she could plunge into major works from day one. “I swayed towards construction and infrastructure. I thought, if I’m going to work on projects I want to work on the biggest and most interesting ones, which have the biggest effect on people’s lives. A lot of people use railways or airports, but how many of them actually get to go behind the scenes and see how they work?”

She began at Turner & Townsend, which has a terrific record of working with young project managers, and French found her career accelerated: “I was 18 years old and they put me to work with the graduates,” she says. “My first team were amazing. They never made me feel like an apprentice. The directors made sure I got the maximum amount of experience. At that age you expect your first duties to be a bit boring, but within a couple of months they were giving me areas to support and manage and allowing me to liaise with the client. It was exciting for me from very early on. It’s such a vital time in your career. I feel I got a far greater depth of knowledge than other apprentices get, so I am very grateful.”

Taking residence at the British Library

She got her APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) and then set her sights on full chartered status. She knew she’d need to leverage her best qualities – namely her ability on the job and aptitude – and to minimise studying. “I did the long route,” she says. “I did Route 3, which is both technical knowledge and professional practice. The professional practice I felt comfortable with, as it was projects I’d lived and breathed for years at a time. The technical knowledge I found challenging. And the way I got round that was over‑studying,” she explains.

The reluctant scholar went all in. “I over‑studied. I had two ring binders of revision notes for every competency. I had multiple arguments about each issue in my head. I spent a lot of time in the library so I could do extra reading and pull the original reference documents up. And when the APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition suggested something to read, I’d find that book and then find the ones referenced there and get hold of those too.” The task was made a little easier by her choice of study location. “I was really lucky, as at the time I lived close to the British Library. It’s free to join as a reader. You can order books to the reading rooms, you just can’t take them with you. It means you can read as much as you want.”

It’s a terrific tip. The unaware may also appreciate the British Library’s Business and IP Centre, which stocks a vast number of books on trade and intellectual property, supported by free databases and an entrepreneur‑in‑residence. It’s also totally free.

A switch to a new job at the property and construction consultancy Gleeds kept her career moving upwards, and she received strong support for her chartered quest. French is candid about the hard work she needed to put in. “I struggled. I actually retook my interview. I did. I failed on one competency, and it was on my technical knowledge.” The pain of the setback causes her a brief grimace, followed by a smile in the recollection she overcame it. “It was annoying but I went back and just did it again.”

A test of self belief

The emotion on achieving her remarkable goal? “Just relief,” she recalls. “I’d been working for three or four years for it. At the back of my mind I was always thinking, ‘What do I need? What experiences do I need to add?’” And discovering she was the youngest ever Chartered Project Professional? “Yeah. That was a pretty cool moment!”

Her accomplishment also gave her the perfect rebuttal to critics. Bizarrely, despite a growing consensus that career paths can take many forms, she encountered snobbery against the vocational route. “When I was 18 and 19 I had people tell me I was throwing my career away by not going to university. Some people had very strong opinions about it, and it’s hard to deal with that when you are very young,” she says.

French is now committed to a career as a project manager and loves the job more than ever. “My strongest suit is when I’m busy. I like working at pace in real environments where things are always moving and there are complexities to take into account.” She now promotes project management as a career to other young people as an Education Ambassador for APM. “I’ve done a lot of talking at events and careers fairs to parents and children to help them make a decision.”

One final lesson French wants to impart is how performance is linked to motivation. Find the right role, one that really resonates, and career progression can go ballistic. “I really enjoy the job,” she says. “I love seeing the end result, especially in construction. You see the trains and think: ‘I contributed to this.’ I’ve been so lucky with my job. Project management is a career I wish more people knew about.”

Bel’s top tips for young project professionals

1. Research your options

When it comes to developing your career, don’t just take recommendations. Do your own research and explore what is out there. I didn’t want to do a degree, so I had to find my own career path. I looked into the different ways of progressing and considered the pros and cons. That’s my advice to others: research your options and don’t just take other people’s word for what you can do.

2. Learn as much as you can early on

When you first join a company, you are easing yourself in. But there will be opportunities to extend yourself. I don’t do well being bored, it makes me nervous. So I spoke to people and asked if there was anything I could do. One of the project managers asked me to help him write a project execution plan. At the time I was 18 and had no idea what it was. Seek out those early experiences and you’ll grow much faster.

3. Trust your instinct

I say it’s important to take opportunities and to learn. But it’s also necessary to trust your instincts and stand up for yourself. You’ll know whether you are ready to take something on. And if you are not ready, and get a bad vibe, then it’s OK to say no to things. You’ll get a feel for what is right. It’s a little contradictory to my last tip, but I think it makes sense.

4. Courtesy costs nothing

This is something my old PE teacher Mrs Bishop told me when I was younger. Not directed at me, I’d like to point out. She said if you can’t turn up to a lesson for any reason, just let her know. That’s courteous. You can always take a moment to be polite. It’s the same in a work environment. If you can’t make a meeting, or something’s happened, it costs nothing to phone and let people know. It means a lot when you give people the respect they deserve. I won’t stand for any nonsense, but there’s no reason to be unkind.

5. Learn your strengths and weaknesses

This is one of the best things for me. I know I’m not academic. I’ve over‑compensated for that. I’ve really had to make an effort. There are other areas where I’m stronger, such as managing stakeholders and working with people. Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses means you can get support. It also means you are more alert to feedback and you can build a skill in an area you aren’t so good at.

6. Build your network

Networking is useful, especially within your own company. It’s too easy to get stuck in a bubble with your project team, but when you are looking for your next project or need help, then your network will be able to give recommendations. My tip? Offer tea. Ask people who sit near you if they’d like a cup. It’s a great way of starting conversations and helps you get to know people. Social events are great too. APM runs young professional networking events. I’ve met a lot of people that way too.

 

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE WINTER 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.