Vocational training lasts two to three-and-a-half years in Germany (Federal Employment Agency Germany n.d.; Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany n.d.).  The dual training consists of three to four days at the company and up to two days at the vocational school.  With 42 working weeks (Lexware.de n.d.) and assuming the shortest training period of two years, this results in a total of 84 working weeks.  Assuming an eight-hour workday, this amounts to 2,016 to 2,688 hours of company practice.  It should be noted that this remaining working time does not consist entirely of learning experiences.  Therefore, it is estimated that approximately 25 percent of working time is dedicated to acquiring new knowledge or skills, amounting to 504 to 672 learning hours within the company.  A vocational school day is defined as a working day if it includes more than five teaching units of at least 45 minutes each (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin n.d.; JArbSchG, §9).  Assuming six hours of vocational school per day, this corresponds to 4.5 hours.  This means that, for a training program, between 378 and 756 hours of theoretical training are added to the practical work at the company.  For vocational training, it is estimated that a total of 882 (=504+378) to 1,428 (=672+756) hours must be invested, depending on the specific training program and the duration of the apprenticeship.  This means that the vocational school should take up about 12 to 27 percent of the total working time.

The Colorado State University Global (CSU Global) Master in Project Management program is designed to be completed within 1,728 hours.  This is approximately 20 percent more than the maximum time frame for a two-year vocational training program. However, the course of study is largely limited to the theoretical transfer of knowledge. It is imperative to incorporate practical experience in the field of application of professional work, as it is a necessary condition for sustainable professional development (Gruber 1999; Dreyfus & Dreyfus 2005; Billett, Harteis & Gruber 2018; Ericsson 2018; Feltovich, Prietula & Ericsson 2018; Harteis, Billett & Gruber 2020 as cited in in Goller 2021).  Active engagement with practice enables learners to acquire, extend, qualitatively transform and assess the adequacy of professionally relevant knowledge structures (Goller 2021, p. 5 with reference to Gerholz & Goller 2021 and Goller 2021, ch. 3.2).  At the top-tier consultancies, the practical component (on-the-job training) lasts an average of 1,500 hours, two to three times longer than vocational training.  The focus is clearly on applying skills in day-to-day project work, which accounts for about 95 percent of total working hours (6,000 hours) compared to about 5 percent of training hours, which is even higher than in an apprenticeship.

In contrast, the 35 hours required to register for the PMI-PMP^® exam seems extremely low.  Furthermore, the fact that 70 hours are estimated for working through the exam catalog illustrates that the focus is on preparing for the exam rather than applying the knowledge in practice.  As already mentioned, the required practical experience gained in the past does not allow for the application and practice of theoretical content, but only for a certain amount of reflection after the fact.  A serious project management education or training program should include an extensive classroom component as well as the opportunity to apply and practice what is learned in the classroom—ideally accompanied by a mentor or coach who can observe and provide important feedback.

In conclusion, among Project Management Training Programs, the training and development period at top-tier consultancies is among the longest and has the highest proportion of on-the-job training coupled with regular feedback.