BE THE FIRST TO KNOW
Subscribe to the SPOCE newsletter to receive timely updates about new courses, venues and discounts!
Embarking on, or taking the next steps in your project management career can be a daunting prospect even for the most experienced project team member. Each course overview you may read will no doubt claim to be the best project management course and the one that ticks all the boxes. In this blog we will explore the very questions that you need to ask yourself when making the all-important decision of how to pick a project management course, so that you can make a choice that is completely suited to your needs.
Simply put, where are you now? Are you a seasoned project team member that has already practiced project management but do not yet hold a formal project management certification, or is your project management career in its infancy? If you are the latter of these then consider entry level project management courses for beginners. APM PFQ is a great starting point for any individual wishing to get a grasp of how projects are run, the language that is used and a general idea of what is in a project managers toolkit. If you are considering a traditional linear project approach, where each stage has a clear-cut start and end, then PRINCE2® Foundation also provides a clear route to accreditation.
For working in an agile way, where product delivery is cyclical and responsive, then AgilePM® has an excellent 2-day entry qualification. But what if you are rich in experience but a little thin on the qualification side? APM PMQ is a practical skills-based course that has no mandatory prerequisites but requires a real understanding of how projects are run. In essence, it is possible to ‘bypass’ the entry qualification altogether.
If you are already qualified, some approaches have made the accreditation route a little easier as they take into account your understanding and previous experience. One example of this is the APM PMQ for PRINCE2 Practitioners that offers a shorter exam for Practitioners (whether their status is current of not).
Once you have become qualified in one approach, it does not mean that other approaches are not worth considering. Many are complementary to each other. PRINCE2 Agile® is the perfect hybrid for PRINCE2 Project Managers to study if they wish to gain more experience in how to work in a more agile way.
Are you looking to move up the career ladder internally? Then you need to be guided by the culture and management practices of your current organisation. There is no point studying a traditional waterfall approach such as PRINCE2® Project Management, where everything runs in a linear fashion if your organisation advocates a more agile project management approach, producing products in short sprints and relying on regular and collaborative communication tools such as Kanban boards and huddles.
Likewise, if you are disillusioned with the practices in your current role or are looking to move to another organisation, you will need to do your homework and find out what methods they promote within their project teams.
This will depend on your experience, current status and confidence. Think about where you would like to be in 5 years time, which kind of organisation would suit your personality and career goals and find out what they practice currently. If you are on the ladder, think about what the next steps are or even how adding to your current certifications would improve your prospects.
The answer to this is ‘where would you like to study?’ If you are self sufficient in study but short on time then an online project management course is for you. If you like the support you receive from the traditional classroom, then SPOCE Project Management offer some of the best project management courses in the UK. F
inally, if you like the support and interaction of the traditional classroom setting but do not wish to travel and want a little more flexibility with your studying, then an online virtual classroom course is a great combination of the two.
Project management training fees for these courses will vary wildly depending on your chosen study option, your course type and whether you have any extras like exams and manuals. Project Management courses online can differ in particular, as courses can range from simple introductions to 6 – 12 months access with exams.
SPOCE Project Management are a globally recognised project and IT Service training provider that is the flagship training provider for some of the most prestigious approaches in project and programme management such as PRINCE2® and MSP®.
This year SPOCE celebrates 25 years in the industry.
Click to download PRINCE2 eBook
Click to download APM PFQ eBook
Click to download AgilePM eBook
T: +44 01202 736 373
E: clients@spoce.com
V: www.spoce.com
Comments