Donkey
Has anyone thought of the eventual effect of requiring civil servants (& government ministers) in a particular department had to have either a relevant professional qualification or five year's experience [acknowledged by a national body] in the subject.
For my part, when I joined the Civil Service (as a prospective aeronautical engineer) I was told that it would be about 15 years before I attained the necessary competence and experience to get onto the lowest rung of project management - if that was to be my chosen career path. I was called a young whippersnapper when I did it in 12 (5 promotions).
At that most junior PM grade, I could not be marked "fitted" for promotion until I had managed projects in a range of engineering disciplines, in Land, Sea and (of course) Air, in every stage of the "procurement cycle" (i.e. Concept, Development etc). 120+ projects later I got one step up the PE ladder. I accepted this, because in my department the rule was applied equally and fairly.
Then we got 21 year old direct entrants, who did 2 years and then grade skipped to be boss; never having managed anything but the simplest task, and occasionally a project. And never having had to retrospectively attain and demonstrate the competencies and experience demanded of others. Then CDP got shot of the experienced staffs, saying PE did not need engineers to manage technology projects. His solution, as you rightly point out, was consultants. The aforesaid PMs became simple consultancy task managers. THAT is where the root of many procurement problems lie. Some old hands remain, but they are despised and sidelined in DE&S.
I try to avoid commenting on serving officers posted to IPTs, but I'm sure they all have the necessary experience and can tell you all about their 50 most successful projects.
