Sep 10
2011
What types of project management qualification are there?
Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, Leadership, Project Management | 1 Comment
I have often been asked what is the ‘best’ or a ‘good starting’ project management qualification? This is a tricky question to answer, as there are many elements to this, and I would also suggest that there is no such thing as ‘best’. I do however strongly reccommend having some sort of project management qualification, be this a full blown university degree or a professional qualification, supported by continuous professional development (CPD). When applying for jobs, or advancing your career, there is a noticable trend thet Human Resource departments are looking for applicants to have a range of qualifications, even if these are only a ‘tick box’ to get to interview. More importantly, I think it is essential that project managers and project teams have an appreciation and understanding of standard project management approaches and techniques – this will improve your approach to projects, ability to undertake projects, and improve chances of sussesful project delivery and benefits realisation.
The type of qualification you undertake will depend on a number of elements, for example:
- What your interests are
- What stage you are at in your education/career and where you want to get to – e.g. are you a portfolio manager, programme manager, project manager, project team member, contractor, student, employee etc
- What sector you are in – some qualifications are general/pan-sector, whereas some are focused on a certain sector
- How much time you have available to undertake training
- What funding you have available – this can range from thousands for MBA level, to no cost for self directed learning
Project management qualifications can be undertaken in a number of ways, including:
- Full or part-time university undergraduate degrees (e.g. BSc)
- Full or part-time university postgraduate degrees (e.g. MSc, MBA)
- Full or part-time professional qualifications (e.g. APMP, PRINCE2, PMI)
- Distance learning degrees and professional qualifications
- Self directed development and and CPD activities
Project management qualifications
It is not possible to list or maintain all the currently available project management courses and qualifications here, but a sample is provided below, along with an indication of the awarding/accreditation body:
- Introductory Certificate in Project Management – Association for Project Management (APM)
- APMP – Association for Project Management (APM)
- APM Practitioner – Association for Project Management (APM)
- CPM: Certificated Project Manager – Association for Project Management (APM)
- APM Risk Certificate – Association for Project Management (APM)
- Registered Project Professional (RPP) – Association for Project Management (APM)
- Agile Project Management – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- Change Management – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- Earned Value Management (EVM) Certification – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- P3O – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- DSDM Atern (Agile) – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- M_o_R (Management of Risk) – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- PRINCE2 – APMG-UK (APMG-International)
- Level A – Certified Projects Director – International Project Management Association (IPMA)
- Level B – Certified Senior Project Manager – International Project Management Association (IPMA)
- Level C – Certified Project Manager – International Project Management Association (IPMA)
- Level D – Certified Project Manager Associate – International Project Management Association (IPMA)
- CAPM- Certified Associate in Project Management – Project Management Institute (PMI)PMP® – Project
- PMP (Project Management Professional) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
- PgMP (Program Management Professional) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
- PMI-RMP (Risk Management Professional) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
- PMI-SP (Scheduling Professional) – Project Management Institute (PMI)
- MSc in Project Management – Multiple universities
- PhD in Project Management – Multiple universities
Thanks for pointing out that not all project managers are the same. However, I do think that you use the same skills no matter what size the project is. You also do not mention the differences between a PM with one project to manage, and a PM with multiple projects on the go at once. At any rate, any project manager can be helped with a good Task Management program, such as Clarizen A good task management program should be flexible enough to handle a simple project or a complex one, exactly like a good project manager.
November 24, 2011 ·