APM Introductory Certificate & APMP
My company has requested that I gain an APM Introductory Certificate and also a APMP complete with its exam. Now I know that studying these takes time and also costs money, but I already have an Advanced Diploma (Level 6) in Project Management and i am already a full member of the APM.
My question is that is it worth me taking these courses and paying for them or is my existing qualification and APM status equivalent.
Mark Howells MAPM IEng MIET
Answered by David West, 22 May 2012 - 23:15
Hi Mark
It's difficult to fully answer your question without knowing the breadth and depth of your diploma qualification. The syllabus of the APMP exam can be viewed here http://www.apm.org.uk/sites/default/files/3-1-2%20APMP%20Syllabus.pdf and I would suggest having a look through this and assessing how much of this was covered by your diploma course. You could also look at the sample paper (http://www.apm.org.uk/sites/default/files/3-1-2%20APMP%20sample%20paper.doc) and see whether the questions would stretch you or not.
If you find this content too 'easy' then you might want to think about the next level qualification which is the Practitioner Qualification (PQ) and you can see details of that here http://www.apm.org.uk/PQ. This is a residential assessment so may not involve as much study time if you are already well qualified and experienced. If you don't think that this adds value then you may want to consider the APM Registered Project Professional designation.
Regarding your question about membership, full membership of APM merely demonstrates that you have had 5 years experience as a project professional. It doesn't make any comment about quality of experience or competence. This is something that we are looking to change so that full membership becomes a competence assessment in the same way that RPP does.
Hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
Answered by David West, 22 May 2012 - 23:21
Something else that would be relevant is the question of why do your company want you to do this?
There could be a number of reasons such as;
- They think that your personal project management skills need to be improved
- They think that the organisations project management skills need to be improved and that 'sheep dipping' their people with these 2 qualifications will achieve this
- These qualifications are required for a particular contract
If it's one of the first 2 then perhaps a more sophisticated approach might be beneficial in your case?
Answered by .pnaybour, 24 October 2012 - 15:23
Mark
If you are already and full memeber of the APM and doing a advanced qualification in project management I wouldn't recomend the APM IC, or even the APMP.
Have you looked at RPP, may be that should be your next move.
Paul
