Convert Your PRINCE2® Skills

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MS
MShttps://dittodigital.co.uk
The author spent the first part of her career working in IT and IT Project Management in the oil industry and investment banking on complex global projects involving the management of outsourced project teams. She now runs a digital marketing company with particular expertise in technical SEO and Content Marketing.


I think it is really good news that the APM (Association for Project Management) now have a project management training course that takes into account previous PRINCE2® qualifications in a new exam to gain the APM PMQ qualification.  

 

The only way to achieve the APM PMQ qualification up until the end of 2010 was to study the whole syllabus, which meant that qualified  PRINCE2®  practitioners had to be examined on topics that they had already studied in detail and been examined on for their PRINCE2® qualifications. Like many PRINCE2® practitioners I have, understandably, been reluctant to sit additional exams on topics that I had already been examined on.

 

And yet it seems logical that a combination of study, qualifications and practise in both the PRINCE2® methodology and the details of the APM PMQ BOK (Body of Knowledge) will give an added advantage to professional project managers over study for purely one qualification. PRINCE2® provides a good, solid foundation for project managers that is not specific to any type of project or business but when put into practise in the project environment it lacks detail, particularly for experienced project managers who are often expected to get involved in diverse aspects of a project such as budgeting, procurement, legal awareness and conflict resolution. We certainly need all the help we can get.  

 

The new exam for project managers with an existing PRINCE2® qualification leads to the same APM PMQ qualification so this isn’t a “second-rate” APM PMQ qualification. It means that a project manager could gain both qualifications with roughly the same amount of studying as for the APM PMQ qualification alone. Of course, the costs may be higher but the benefit, in terms of two, rather than one, well-regarded professional qualification must surely be worth the extra cost. And aside from the personal benefit in terms of career development, a more rounded set of practical skills will be gained by studying different approaches which will help you to manage all aspects of your projects well.

 

Prince is a structured project management method that is easily transferable across industries and companies but is more of a framework for managing projects whereas the APM PMQ is based on a detailed knowledge of project management techniques and skills so, for a professional project manager each approach fills the gaps of the other. Together they are complementary qualifications that will enable more and more project managers to become better informed of standard industry best-practice approaches to successfully managing a project. 

 

This has to be good for you, as a project manager, and good for your company. In shaky economic times, companies simply can’t afford to have projects that are badly managed and take up valuable time and resources without delivering on their promises.

 

 

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Project management has developed into a fully-fledged chartered profession since the granting of the Royal Charter in the UK to The Association for Project Management (APM) in 2017. Training courses for project managers were already available and highly popular to help people gain professional project management accreditation, but with this wider recognition of the profession it is now seen as a desirable career path for many. Whilst the APM has the coveted Royal Charter and continues to develop its APM PMQ (formerly the APMP) programmes, there are also other internationally recognised qualifications that continue to be highly regarded such as PMP and PRINCE2.

Organisations have become increasingly project-focused in this era of rapidly emerging new technologies and they value the expertise that comes with experienced and fully qualified project teams and managers. By investing in their project management capability businesses can be confident of delivering their new projects in time and on budget more often and more successfully. Many major corporation are now training their people to have the right project management qualifications as well as relevant experience, through internal Learning & Development (L&D) programmes; or by using external project management training providers.

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