A View of Project Management Training & Qualifications (in 300 words)

When choosing PM training days consider: 1) “what do you want to do that uses the results?” A job that is interesting, some challenge, plays to your competencies allows job mobility? 2) “What qualifications help?”  and 3) “Would I use any training budget allocated to me wisely?” I’ll give some perspective on the last couple and leave the others to you.

Which PM Qualifications Might Help

A mix of facts and my subjective view is

• PMP and the lower level CAPM (Project Management Institute (PMI): www.pmi.org) is a tough globally recognised multiple choice test of your knowledge of “A Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge”. You will need a good exam-prep book to pass. 3 years PM experience is the minimum entry criteria to the exam.
• APMP (from www.apm.org.uk). Arguably the best, and leads to higher level qualifications. The syllabus and a sample 3hr written exam paper are free from their web site.
• PRINCE2®. For any UK PM job it is a ‘must-have’ to avoid CV filtering before the interviews. Beware of two issues: P2 assumes you have planning and tracking skills so only covers the ‘controls framework’ and 99% of courses are exam-cram: quickly forgotten. It will allow you avoid agency filtering but without prior experience in the assumed skills it won’t help do the job for real.

Conclusion

In general in the UK you need PRINCE2®. For UK defence sector jobs APM may be best. Any global sector like oil and gas demands PMP!

A longer version is under the White Papers heading

Simon Harris, PMP, CGEIT, IPMA-D, PRINCE2®. MOR®is Principal of Logical Model Ltd. Simon consults, mentors and trains on PM. LML won’t train just to the exams. We use a two part approach: 1) Doing the job for real, 2) optionally exams. Email Simon@LogicalModel.Net or call 084 52 57 57 07 or visit www.logicalmodel.net free p2 course materials.