SOMA Academy
Practitioner-grade risk training, for the way UK projects actually run.
A fourteen-module curriculum across four progression tiers — built by practitioners on live infrastructure programmes. Self-paced, online, with downloadable artefacts you can take back to the desk.
Why we built it
Clients kept asking us for structured risk training that wasn't generic, wasn't theatre, and wasn't a two-day classroom course written for an audience that doesn't exist. They wanted something their team could actually work through alongside live delivery — calibrated to UK conventions, anchored in real programmes, and detailed enough to produce competent practitioners, not just attendees with a certificate.
We built it for our own engagements first. Every SOMA programme we run has at least one client team member who needs the fundamentals quickly, and at least one senior risk lead who wants the deeper material. The Academy gives both audiences a clean path through, without us repeating the same workshop on every engagement.
It is now open to clients as part of their engagement, and to external learners on request.
How it's structured
Four progression tiers. Real artefacts. Verified completion.
14 modules
Across four progression tiers — Foundation, Practitioner, Quantitative, Strategic. Work through them in order or jump to the level you need.
Self-paced
Online, on your schedule. Designed to fit around live delivery — short narrative units, pause-and-resume progress tracking, no fixed cohort dates.
Real artefacts
Downloadable risk registers, calculators, workshop templates, report skeletons. Built for use on a real programme — not as slide-deck props.
Verified completion
End-of-module knowledge checks, in-page interactive exercises, and a CPD-claimable certificate when each module is complete.
The curriculum
Foundation through Strategic — fourteen modules, one progression.
The full module list opens after sign-in. Below is the shape of the curriculum — what each tier covers and a few of the modules inside it.
Tier
Foundation
Get the language right. Three modules covering risk fundamentals, qualitative analysis and risk-register hygiene — the floor every project controls professional should be standing on.
Example modules
- →Introduction to Project Risk
- →Qualitative Risk Management
- →Risk Registers and Reporting
Tier
Practitioner
Run the workshops, build the models. Five modules on workshop facilitation, three-point estimates, contingency, Monte Carlo principles and a hands-on Safran lab.
Example modules
- →Running a Risk Workshop
- →Quantification Fundamentals
- →Monte Carlo Principles
Tier
Quantitative
Deliver the numbers. Three modules covering QCRA, integrated cost-and-schedule risk analysis, and the facilitation muscle quantitative work depends on.
Example modules
- →QCRA
- →Integrated Cost & Schedule (capstone)
- →Advanced Facilitation
Tier
Strategic
Lead the function. Three modules covering programme assurance, client-side governance under NEC4, and the cultural mechanics that make risk management actually work.
Example modules
- →Programme Assurance
- →Client-side Governance
- →Risk Culture
Plus further modules in each tier — sign in to see the full list, module narratives, and downloadable artefacts.
What's actually inside
Designed to make competent practitioners, not certified attendees.
Real worked examples
Calibration drills, the Oakfield Junction exemplar dataset, Safran-lab walk-throughs, and case-based exercises drawn from anonymised live engagements. Examples that look like the work, not toy cases.
Downloadable artefacts
Risk register templates, three-point estimate calculators, workshop facilitation packs, QRA report skeletons. Spreadsheet and document files you can adapt directly to your programme.
Interactive exercises
In-page widgets that test recall and judgement — three-point estimate practice, tornado-chart interpretation, contingency drawdown calls. Built into the modules, not bolted on.
Who it's for
Built for people doing the work — and the people commissioning it.
Project controls professionals
Planners, cost engineers and risk managers who want a structured upgrade from working knowledge to practitioner-grade — without taking weeks out of delivery to do it.
Client-side risk leads
Risk leads at asset owners and Tier 1 contractors who need to know what good looks like — and verify the QRA they are being shown actually matches.
Programme directors
Senior decision-makers who want to read a QRA report properly, challenge contingency credibly, and run risk culture as a deliberate practice — without becoming a Monte Carlo specialist.
Access
Free for SOMA clients. External access on request.
If we're working with you, your team gets access as part of the engagement — no separate licence, no extra invoice. If you're not yet a client, the Academy is available to external learners; pricing depends on cohort size and how you'd like to use it. Get in touch and we'll come back within one working day.
New users request access through the Academy; we approve manually within one working day.
Frequently asked
About the SOMA Academy
- How does access work?
- Click through to the Academy at academy.somaprojectcontrols.com and request an account. We approve new accounts manually, usually within one working day. SOMA clients are added by us at the start of the engagement — no need to request.
- Is the curriculum accredited?
- The content is built and structured to be aligned with IRM Level 2. As of April 2026, we have not yet submitted the curriculum to the IRM for formal accreditation — that is on the roadmap. Until then, the Academy is best described as IRM Level 2-grade rather than IRM-certified. Modules are CPD-claimable; CPD hours are stated inside each module.
- Can my team use the Academy as part of a SOMA engagement?
- Yes. The Academy is included as part of any SOMA engagement at no additional cost. Tell us at kick-off how many seats you need and we will add the team. There is no separate licence, no per-seat invoice, and no time limit while the engagement is live.
- Is the Academy available to external learners?
- Yes — external access is available on request. Pricing depends on cohort size, whether you want a single learner or a programme team, and whether you want it tied to a specific cohort window. Get in touch via the contact page and we will come back with a proposal.
- How is the content delivered?
- Self-paced and online. Each module is structured as a written narrative with diagrams, in-page interactive widgets, downloadable artefacts (xlsx, docx, pptx) and end-of-module knowledge checks. Module artefacts download for direct use on a programme; the narrative itself stays online so we can keep it current.
- Who built it?
- SOMA practitioners — the same people who run live QRAs, schedule reviews and integrated PMOs on UK infrastructure programmes. Worked examples are drawn from real engagements (anonymised). The content was reviewed by an external partner risk lead before launch.
Got a programme that needs the numbers straight?
Tell us what you are working on. We will come back within one working day with a useful answer — not a sales pitch.