Project Management Qualifications, Which One?

• PRINCE2

• APM [Association for Project Management]

• PMI [Project Management Institute]

To answer this question fully you first have to decide on your objectives. Organisations looking to recruit a professional Project Manager will often cite a recognised formal qualification as part of the candidate requirements. In some cases this is driven by clear policy, whereas in others it is often added to a job spec with limited thought.

It is true that in the public sector there is a mandate for PRINCE2 at Practitioner level for a reasonable portion of Project Manager roles. If you are therefore looking to work in the public sector or for an organisation with a heavy emphasis on public sector clients then PRINCE2 would be a clear choice.

The concern is that PRINCE2 is now seen as the solution to all ills in some quarters. Attending a one week (intensive) course does not make a Project Manager – it makes someone familiar with a well structured systematic approach for managing a project which some people do find difficult to carry over into the real world.

The APM and PMI offer much more rounded qualifications that take longer to acquire and like most things in life, the greater the effort, the greater the reward. If your ambition is to be a true professional Project Manager, then I would recommend working through the APM qualifications, from Foundation onwards. The Foundation level can be achieved through a 2 day course and is a good starter for those in junior or coordinator roles. Many people at this level do not have a formally recognised qualification so it is a good way of setting yourself apart from other candidates.

In the UK the APM course may be favoured in the UK and has a larger following that the PMI but they are both just as good. The PMI is much more US-centric. There are a higher number of providers of APM training in the UK and it is therefore probably a lower cost option. If you have already studied part way through PMI qualifications then please do not track back and start the APM route.

The ideal candidate would have APM (or PMI) and then PRINCE2 Practitioner. You might be surprised at how few professional Project Managers have taken the time and trouble to do both. If you a serious about your career and being the best Project Manager possible, why wouldn’t you invest some time in understanding as much about your subject as possible?

If you do decide to head the PRINCE2 route I would suggest looking at Wellingtone Advantage where you can receive a 10% discount on course fees by selecting one of the highlighted providers and stating you were referred by Wellingtone.