Realising the benefits of investment in project management training

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers experienced as “apprentice practitioners” transitioned from a course of project management (PM) education into a project‐centric work place, in order to improve understanding of the limitations of classroom‐based education at the level of the individual. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes a longitudinal study over two years, during which data were collected from a series of on‐line surveys and one‐to‐one interviews with a data set that comprised 78 military students. Findings The research results confirmed some of the benefits associated with classroom‐based PM education (learning the language, tools & techniques) and identified key barriers to the application of learning in the workplace. Research limitations/implications The study's validity, particularly in respect of generalisability, should not be overstated. Organisational maturity plays a part in shaping the approach to individual learning and these aspects were not assessed. Practical implications The paper argues that a more strategic approach to PM people development is required, involving a move away from traditional classroom‐based interventions at the level of the individual to a paradigm where the same individuals are able to immerse themselves in active team‐based learning as part of their day‐job. Originality/value The findings of this study resonate with those of earlier work and set the PM situation into the context of other disciplines.