Question: I’ve set a goal for myself, I want to move into project management and away from systems support (after 15 years). What is the best way to do this over say a 4 year period, I have lost interest in IT systems and want to change. 
I do not have a degree but have certs and a diploma, mainly systems support stuff (mcse, ccna etc). I got into IT the long way round, failed the leaving, got into a fee paying tech college then Fas. After Fas I got a placement in a support role and have been stuck in support roles since… obviously this is not how I planned things but its been a means to an end.

This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve changed careers as I used to be a Chef but gave up because of the hours I was putting in, huge difference in the type of industry and the types of people etc.. However I’m a lot older now and could not take the financial hit of starting out as a junior type project manager. I’ve recently done a diploma in project man, but its difficult to break into my area as infra PM, as roles are very rare these days. 
There seems to be a lot more of programming type PM roles, from a programmers point of view what skills would a PM need to work successfully in a similar role.. Obviously PM stuff like PMP and prince2 but would the PM need programming skills also?

Answer: 

A software project manager is a project manager with a firm background in software development and related fields. They are often responsible for overseeing the Software development life cycle.

So, while there are Project Managers that manage Systems the majority of Project Managers are in Software Development. This is just that the Software Development Life Cycle has a need for more PM’s. It would improve your job chances if you gained experience in the Software Development Life Cycle preferably as a programmer to start.

The other issue that you are trying to avoid, is your education. While there are PM’s without a college degree their careers are not as stable and typically do not make as high a salary as one that has. You will find that the majority of successful PM’s will have at least a Bachelors Degree and usually a Masters. Most Universities are graduating large numbers of graduates with Management of Information Services (MIS) degrees. They will usually get the Project Manager position before you would. You need to go back to school.