Project Management Qualifications
Project Management is a growing profession and an increasingly important one for career development. Employers are placing more importance on Project qualifications so it is important to choose the right one.
Who are the accreditation bodies?
There are a number of qualifying bodies for project management training, each one offering different levels of qualification for different purposes. These include:
- The Association for Project Management (APM) UK based , and part of the International Project Management Association (IPMA)
- The Project Management Institute (PMI) US based
- Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) UK
- Institute of Management (IOM) UK
- National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ)
- PRINCE2 (strictly a methodology) UK
The qualifications for each body are summarised in the table and the relative levels indicated.
How to choose one?
It is quite difficult for anyone coming into this area, wanting to gain a relevant qualification, to find unbiased advice.
Here are some basic suggested guidelines:
- If you are working the UK and Europe in non IT industry qualify via the APM
- If you are working in IT industry only, qualify via the ISEB
- If you are working for a US multinational qualify via the PMI
- If you are working for a company delivering government contracts where PRINCE2 is mandatory qualify in PRINCE2, but also gain the APMP qualification. (the first deals with a methodology and the second on how to run a project)
- If you wish to gain more academic qualifications prhaps consider the IOM and NVQs, but remember that most practitioners in the UK use the APM
| APM (UK) | PMI (US) | ISEB (UK) | OGC Project Methodolgy | OGC Programme Methodology |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Introductory Certificate | |
PRINCE2 Foundation | MSP Foundation Certificate | |
| Certificated Associate in PM | |||||
| Knowledge | APMP Qualification | |
Certificate in IS PM | PRINCE2 Practitioner | MPS Practitioner Sertificate |
| PMP PM professional | |||||
| Experience | Practitioner Qualification | ||||
| Prog Mgt Professional | |||||
| Recognition |
Certificated Project Manager |
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