Earning new qualifications is an exciting part of your professional life and can offer a whole host of benefits, from personal (such as increased confidence in one’s own abilities) to the monetary gains that come with being able to pursue a leadership position, for example. However something that many professionals wrestle with is the fact that some qualifications take a long time to study for which slows down the pace of progress that you make in your career. The great thing about a PRINCE2 qualification is that it is easily accessible online (which means you can learn in your own time) and can be learnt in a relatively short pace of time.
So what is PRINCE2 you ask? PRINCE2 stands for ‘Projects in Controlled Environments’ and one of the most popular and recognised project management methodologies out there. This qualification essentially works to offer an in-depth understanding of project management best practices which in turn helps to ensure projects are always delivered on budget and on time. The great thing about PRINCE2 is that it can be used in many different industries and sets an exceptionally high standard when it comes to project management here in the UK.
Becoming accredited in PRINCE2 (or becoming a registered PRINCE2 practitioner) works with you sitting two exams – one being the Foundation and the other being the Practitioner exams. Some professional training organisations offer you the chance to attend courses that range from two days for the Foundation level, three days for Practitioner as well as one day refresher courses to keep your knowledge topped up. In the UK it is common for individuals to take both their Foundation and Practitioner certification exams as part of a week or two week long course. The great thing about PRINCE2 is that its training syllabus has a greater focus on outcomes as opposed to inputs through training.
Foundation
The Foundation exam is a multiple choice one hour paper in which you are required to answer 75 questions with the aim of passing with at least 50%. This exam is closed book.
Practitioner
The PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification features objective testing and requires you to answer eight questions that come in 10 parts and are each worth one mark each (each set of 8 is worth 10 marks in total). You are required to achieve an overall score of 44 out of 80 in the aim of passing by at least 55%.
If you are contemplating a future in project management then it is highly recommended that you become qualified in PRINCE2 in order to secure your position as a stand out candidate when it comes to securing a job in the field. The qualification will enable you to have a better grasp of the language, procedures and system associated with project management. The skills you learn through this methodology can be applied to all manner of project management situations and will really help to open doors when it comes to forwarding your career- why not see where it can lead you?
