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Project Management Career Certificate

About this Professional Certificate

Prepare for a new career in the high-growth field of project management, no experience or degree required. Get professional training designed by Google and get on the fast track to a competitively paid job. There are 479,000 U.S. job openings in project management with a $73,000 median entry-level salary.¹

Project managers are natural problem-solvers. They set the plan and guide teammates, and manage changes, risks, and stakeholders.

Over 6 courses, gain in-demand skills that will prepare you for an entry-level job. Learn from Google employees whose foundations in project management served as launchpads for their own careers. At under 10 hours per week, you can complete in less than six months.

Upon completion, you can directly apply for jobs with Google and over 130 U.S. employers, including Walmart, Best Buy, and Astreya.

This program qualifies you for over 100 hours of project management education, which helps prepare you for Project Management Institute Certifications like the globally-recognized Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®.

75% of Google Career Certificate Graduates in the United States report an improvement in their career trajectory (e.g. new job or career, promotion or raise) within 6 months of certificate completion.²

 

Shareable Certificate

  • Earn a Certificate upon completion
  • 100% online courses
  • Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
  • Flexible Schedule
  • Set and maintain flexible deadlines.
  • Beginner Level
  • No prior experience required.
  • Approximately 6 months to complete
  • Suggested pace of 10 hours/week

 

 

Courses in this Professional Certificate

COURSE 1

Foundations of Project Management

This course is the first in a series of six to equip you with the skills you need to apply to introductory-level roles in project management. Project managers play a key role in leading, planning and implementing critical projects to help their organizations succeed. In this course, you’ll discover foundational project management terminology and gain a deeper understanding of the role and responsibilities of a project manager. We’ll also introduce you to the kinds of jobs you might pursue after completing this program. Throughout the program, you’ll learn from current Google project managers, who can provide you with a multi-dimensional educational experience that will help you build your skills for on-the-job application. Learners who complete this program should be equipped to apply for introductory-level jobs as project managers. No previous experience is necessary. By the end of this course, you will be able to: – Define project management and describe what constitutes a project. – Explore project management roles and responsibilities across a variety of industries. – Detail the core skills that help a project manager be successful. – Describe the life cycle of a project and explain the significance of each phase. – Compare different program management methodologies and approaches and determine which is most effective for a given project. – Define organizational structure and culture and explain how it impacts project management. – Define change management and describe the role of the project manager in the process. 

 

COURSE 2

Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project

This is the second course in the Google Project Management Certificate program. This course will show you how to set a project up for success in the first phase of the project life cycle: the project initiation phase. In exploring the key components of this phase, you’ll learn how to define and manage project goals, deliverables, scope, and success criteria. You’ll discover how to use tools and templates like stakeholder analysis grids and project charters to help you set project expectations and communicate roles and responsibilities. Current Google project managers will continue to instruct and provide you with hands-on approaches for accomplishing these tasks while showing you the best project management tools and resources for the job at hand. Learners who complete this program should be equipped to apply for introductory-level jobs as project managers. No previous experience is necessary. By the end of this course, you will be able to: – Understand the significance of the project initiation phase of the project life cycle. – Describe the key components of the project initiation phase. – Determine a project’s benefits and costs. – Define and create measurable project goals and deliverables. – Define project scope and differentiate among tasks that are in-scope and out-of-scope. – Understand how to manage scope creep to avoid impacting project goals. – Define and measure a project’s success criteria. – Complete a stakeholder analysis and explain its significance. – Utilize RACI charts to define and communicate project team member responsibilities. – Understand the key components of project charters and develop a project charter for project initiation. – Evaluate various project management tools to meet project needs. 

 

COURSE 3

Project Planning: Putting It All Together

This is the third course in the Google Project Management Certificate program. This course will explore how to map out a project in the second phase of the project life cycle: the project planning phase. You will examine the key components of a project plan, how to make accurate time estimates, and how to set milestones. Next, you will learn how to build and manage a budget and how the procurement processes work. Then, you will discover tools that can help you identify and manage different types of risk and how to use a risk management plan to communicate and resolve risks. Finally, you will explore how to draft and manage a communication plan and how to organize project documentation. Current Google project managers will continue to instruct and provide you with hands-on approaches for accomplishing these tasks while showing you the best project management tools and resources for the job at hand. Learners who complete this program should be equipped to apply for introductory-level jobs as project managers. No previous experience is necessary. By the end of this course, you will be able to: – Describe the components of the project planning phase and their significance. – Explain why milestones are important and how to set them. – Make accurate time estimates and describe techniques for acquiring them from team members. – Identify tools and best practices to build a project plan and risk management plan. – Describe how to estimate, track, and maintain a budget. – Explain the procurement process and identify key procurement documentation. – Draft a communication plan and explain how to manage it. – Explain why milestones are important and how to set them. – Explain why a project plan is necessary and what components it contains. – Make accurate time estimates and describe techniques for acquiring them from team members. 

 

 COURSE 4

Project Execution: Running the Project

This is the fourth course in the Google Project Management Certificate program. This course will delve into the execution and closing phases of the project life cycle. You will learn what aspects of a project to track and how to track them. You will also learn how to effectively manage and communicate changes, dependencies, and risks. As you explore quality management, you will learn how to measure customer satisfaction and implement continuous improvement and process improvement techniques. Next, you will examine how to prioritize data, how to use data to inform your decision-making, and how to effectively present that data. Then, you will strengthen your leadership skills as you study the stages of team development and how to manage team dynamics. After that, you will discover tools that provide effective project team communication, how to organize and facilitate meetings, and how to effectively communicate project status updates. Finally, you will examine the steps of the project closing process and how to create and share project closing documentation. Current Google project managers will continue to instruct and provide you with hands-on approaches for accomplishing these tasks while showing you the best project management tools and resources for the job at hand. Learners who complete this program should be equipped to apply for introductory-level jobs as project managers. No previous experience is necessary. By the end of this course, you will be able to: – Identify what aspects of a project to track and compare different tracking methods. – Discuss how to effectively manage and communicate changes, dependencies, and risks. – Explain the key quality management concepts of quality standards, quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control. – Describe how to create continuous improvement and process improvement and how to measure customer satisfaction. – Explain the purpose of a retrospective and describe how to conduct one. – Demonstrate how to prioritize and analyze data and how to communicate a project’s data-informed story. – Identify tools that provide effective project team communication and explore best practices for communicating project status updates. – Describe the steps of the closing process for stakeholders, the project team, and project managers. 

 

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The Google Certificate Training Programs are  available on an ongoing basis and at NO COST to learners.

For more information on the Google Certificate Programs, please contact workforce@wccc.me.edu.

 

 

¹US Burning Glass Labor Insight Report salary data (median with 0-5 years experience) and job opening data. Data for job roles relevant to featured programs (4/01/2021 – 3/31/22).

²Based on program graduate survey responses, United States 2021