Parallel Project Training Celebrates 10 Years Of Success

Parallel Project Training goes from strength to strength as a leading training provider as it celebrates 10 years of success.

We are an innovative training company based in Reading and this month are celebrating 10 years of success as one of the country’s leading project management training providers. We have brought a unique perspective to the corporate training industry by recognising the importance of a blended learning approach.

Parallel was the first to introduce a blended and cost-effective route for APM qualifications. We are now well-known for our blended approach to training and learning and have devised highly popular e-learning courses, podcasts and webinars, in addition to offering traditional classroom-based courses. This approach has enabled corporations and individuals to develop a professional project management capability at a time and place that suits them, and using the methods best suited to their learning style.

Growth & Development

Since the company’s inception in 2009, by joint founders Paul Naybour and John Bolton, the company has grown to include five employees and associates.

Paul Naybour, Joint Founder and Business Development Director of Parallel Project Training, remarked “As project professionals ourselves, we understood the need for a flexible approach to learning and a range of study options that would suit the diverse requirements of project managers at different stages of their careers. Our variety of learning materials have been a significant factor in our success, as has our ability to tailor courses to suit existing corporate project management frameworks.”

Our variety of learning materials have been a significant factor in our success…

Parallel has built a formidable reputation as the place to go for the very best professional training for individuals and corporate clients in a wide range of industries. As the company goes from strength to strength, we will continue to deliver face-to-face training at venues across the UK and continue to develop our online training solutions.

We offer courses based on the Association for Project Management approaches to project management at all levels.

Working At Parallel

Jan Underdown, Senior Consultant at Parallel, commented “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Parallel over the past ten years. I have had the opportunity to work on some very interesting and challenging assignments. Highlights for me are the Streetworks project, working with schools and community groups developing a project management toolbox, for which we were shortlisted for an APM award; working within the charity sector enabling them to become more efficient and effective in their project management; and just being able to work with innovative and interesting organisations.  I have really enjoyed the ride.

I would describe Parallel as engaging, friendly, innovative, supportive who come up with some really good ideas.  We work brilliantly together as a team “

I would describe Parallel as engaging, friendly, innovative…

Michelle Greaves, Senior Consultant at Parallel, was a practising project manager in both the private and public sectors before joining the company. She had previously met Paul when undertaking her own professional training with Parallel. “I see individuals and organisations returning again and again for training courses with Parallel as their careers progress. As an accredited APM provider we support significant numbers of candidates through their APM qualifications, holding our as one of the smaller providers. Our training is highly professional, uses high quality material and is engaging. We add real value through our own project management experience and our flexibility to create bespoke courses. I know it sounds like a cliché but I am so proud to work for a company like Parallel.”

I am so proud to work for a company like Parallel…

Matt Bolton, the newest and youngest member of the team, came on-board to create a focused marketing strategy aimed at building awareness of the open courses available to individual members of the public. “Part of my role is to improve the online user-experience for individual learners seeking a project management training course. My current focus, therefore, is managing a redesign of our website to clearly delineate Parallel’s offering at corporate and individual level”

Notable Successes

Some of Parallel’s most notable successes over the ten years have been bespoke training programmes tailored to the need of clients. For example, Parallel supported the rollout of the Project Management Framework at The National Trust, which led to The National Trust being awarded the APM company of the year in 2015.

Parallel has helped Dstl (The Defence Science & Technology Laboratory) to develop it’s project management maturity for almost ten years. Training in highly diverse areas such as government procurement, programme management and Microsoft project planning.

More recently Parallel has been the supporting an international development bank with the introduction of open procurement based on World Trade Organisation rules.

John Bolton, Joint Founder and Programmes Director at Parallel Project Training, commented “Paul and I started Parallel because we thought we could help everyone, who wanted to, access a brilliant flexible service at a reasonable cost. Our podcasts set a trend, we got there first, and with 2m downloads these have been a highlight. We were first with a study guide for the major APM exams, and we still sell hundreds of distance learning packages a year, and so after thousands of happy and successful clients, we appear to have achieved our primary goal. Along the way we have been delighted to have worked with lots of brilliant companies and lots of wonderful associates, trainers and supporters and we need to thank all of them, as we look forward to another ten productive, successful years to come. “

…after thousands of happy and successful clients, we appear to have achieved our primary goal.

Looking To The Future

Parallel continues to expand its range of services to include Chartered Project Professional Coaching for major infrastructure organisations.

The world has changed in many ways since the start of Parallel and the team look forward with enthusiasm to the next ten years.