Project Smart

Good afternoon,

My name is Elsie and I am considering a change in career, and project management is the career which I'm aiming for. It's been on my mind for a while and today I finally made some time to do some research.
First I thought I would see what qualifications maybe needed and courses which may need to be taken. I came across a few sites referring to Prince2 and secondly to this registered website http://www.apm.org.uk which suggests doing an introductory certificate https://www.apm.org.uk/IntroductoryCertificate.asp.

As you can imagine my head is spinning and would gladly appreciate some advice from people that are experienced in the Project Management field! I am determined to start a career in Project Management and hope to find some helpful advice on this site.

Many thanks

Elsie.

Hi, Elsie, and welcome to the world of project management!

Many of the people I speak to in my role at a project management training provider are keen to retrain but confused about where to start. With regards to your research, I hope I can offer some helpful pointers and advice.

PRINCE2 stands for 'Projects in Controlled Environments 2', the second version of one of the leading project management methods out there. Most recently updated in 2009, it offers a 'best practice' approach to projects. As such, qualifications in PRINCE2 are often considered highly desirable by employers looking to fill project management job vacancies. If you want to work on or support projects using PRINCE2, achieving Foundation certification will demonstrate your clear understanding of the method. If you want to manage projects using PRINCE2, gaining the Practitioner certification - becoming a Registered PRINCE2 Practitioner - will help you to show that you understand how to implement the method on different project scenarios. This kind of certification can help you to get a foot in the door in relation to project management careers.

The PRINCE2 qualifications, obtained by passing exams, are certified by The APM Group: http://www.apmgroup.co.uk/PRINCE2/PRINCE2Home.asp Attending training about the PRINCE2 approach to projects is a popular way of preparing for the exams. For example, the training provider at which I work, Knowledge Train, is accredited by The APM Group to deliver PRINCE2 training and exams: http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/prince2 ... ourses.php

You don't need any experience of project management to learn about PRINCE2. Depending on how much exposure you have had to projects in your professional background, you may find it useful to attend an introductory project management training course. There are courses, for example, that discuss what projects are, how they can be run efficiently, etc. PRINCE2 acts as a framework for running projects.

Knowledge Train has collaborated with the project management recruitment organisation Arras People on a guide to project management careers, including an article about retraining:
http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/retrain ... gement.php

I hope this information is useful. Feel free to come back to me with any questions.

With best wishes,
Elizabeth
- Knowledge Train

Hi Elsie,

A career change at anytime can be confusing, especially when the career you've chosen is becoming increasingly competitive as it gains recognition as a profession.

We are a Project Management Company offering, Project Management Recruitment, Project Management Training, and Project Management Consultancy so can understand your predicament from a career & training perspective.

Whilst PRINCE2 is a recognised qualification it will not teach you the tools and techniques required to actually manage a project, it focuses on the higher level processes involved, so in short whilst it may look good on a CV it won't make you a project manager or tell you how to actually manage a project hands on.

The APM Introductory Certificate is better from a newbie perspective however like the PRINCE2 qualification, it will not make you a fully fledged project manager.

I'd suggest having a look at the following links:

- Project Management Courses
- Introduction to Project Management - 1 Day Course
- Getting a new project management role

I hope that's not information overload, please don't hesitate to ask any further questions :-)

Kind regards,

Baz

Good morning,

I just wanted to say thank you very much to the both of you for your informative posts! These last few days have been a rollercoaster of a ride, from trying to find out where to start to possible funding for training. Thankfully a few options have arisen and there is a possible opportunity for me to do the PRINCE2 foundation and practioner course at my current place of employment (I'm currently on a career break). I'll hear more today.
Elizabeth, thank you for the links. Coincidentally I was looking at the Knowledge Train website before I saw your post and am keeping that as an option should my current opportunity fall through.
Bazk thanks also for the link. I know I'll need a lot more experience alongside qualifications, so I'm hoping that I may be able to take up a role assisting a project manager to help me gain the experience I need upon completion of the course.

Thanks again your advice has been truly valued, it's been nice to know that the world of Project Management is filled with helpful, friendly people.

Elsie.

Elsie1981 wrote:Elizabeth, thank you for the links. Coincidentally I was looking at the Knowledge Train website before I saw your post and am keeping that as an option should my current opportunity fall through.

Hi again, Elsie,

I'm glad that the information and links about PRINCE2 courses were helpful. I'd be interested to hear how your training goes, and naturally would be more than happy to help if you would like to attend either a PRINCE2 course or another kind of project management course at Knowledge Train.

My tip for PRINCE2 training is to prepare carefully with any pre-course reading provided, try to grasp the major concepts, but not to worry too much about memorising everything before the course begins!

Best of luck,
Elizabeth
Course Administrator
- Knowledge Train

Hi Folks,
All the above recommendations on PRINCE2 are sage, and stand.

For a balanced view, I would however like to draw attention to the Agile side of the Project Management world.
PRINCE2 is largely based around a more classical waterfall approach ("Predictive" project management) whereas Agile (most commonly Scrum nowadays) follow an adaptive approach.
The argument of "which approach is better" is as old as the hills (e.g. http://abrachan.wordpress.com/2006/08/2 ... anagement/ from 2006)

I am a practiced user of both adaptive and predictive, and many believe a mixture of both is useful.

Agile is gathering momentum - widespread use in FT.com, BBC, Google, and many other large organisations.

If this sparks any interest, or have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

Cheers,
m