APMP, Prince2 and SIGMA –
Do you have the Corporate Edge?

See also: Project Management

Today’s job market is a competitive landscape but there is one way to give yourself the edge above others in your market: supplementary training. Short term courses are available online or in a classroom environment and equip candidates with skills to further their careers.

This is not just through professional qualifications but through the ability to boost an individual’s confidence which is paramount to driving a career forward.

Career success is something we all hope for, but leaving your skills to stagnate can leave you left behind in market trends and best practices. Through training you will become privy to the latest industry secrets that will help boost your career and help you navigate through the world of work.

Investing time in these courses is a great way to demonstrate to future employers your commitment to your craft and will give you a corporate edge over candidates who have perhaps rested on their laurels.

One industry that is benefiting hugely from supplementary courses is project management. There are a range of flexible learning options which allow candidates to grow their skill-set in a sway that suits them, and these are ideal for busy millennials who do not conform to the 9-5.


What is a Project Manager?


A project manager’s responsibility is to drive company projects forward efficiently. Project managers are assigned the task of assuring a project’s success by undertaking a systematic approach when tackling each task. 

By gaining a formal, industry recognised qualification your chances of success are greatly improved. Project managers can now up-skill through class-based learning or flexible online training courses. This is extremely useful when coupled with the way in which we live our modern lives, with two thirds of us now spending more time at work each week compared to 2015.

upskilling with a new qualification is a great way to boost your project management career, but with so many options out there it can be difficult to decide what course is right for you.



What Project Management Courses are Available?

  • Prince2

    Prince2 Training is available through both online and offline courses and provides candidates with the skills to take greater control of resources, and the ability to manage business proactively and project risk effectively.

    What is involved in Prince2?

    • Prince is an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments.
    • It is a process based method for project management.
    • It offers best practice guidance on project management.
    • Its emphasis is on driving projects into manageable stages.
  • APMP Certification

    This course is delivered through a classroom environment and delegates will learn systematic approaches that guarantee successful project delivery, industry best practices and a globally recognised certification in superior project management operations.

    APMP Modules include:

    • Stakeholder management
    • Risk management
    • Leadership styles
    • Project lifecycles
  • Six Sigma

    Six Sigma Training is a popular project management course that offers web-based examinations and describes their on-demand certification testing as: “A breakthrough in professional high-stakes certification”

    • Learn a systematic approach to problem solving: define, measure, analyse, improve, control.
    • Six Sigma is a method that provides organisations tools to improve the success of their project.
    • Six Sigma takes the approach that all work can improved by controlling inputs, therefore controlling the outputs.
Busy project manager

What can a Project Management Course Teach me?

Proper Planning Leads to Successful Projects

A projects success is based on its ability to come in on target, on time and on brief.

A professional project management course equips those certified with the skills to plan and estimate their projects successfully. You will learn to estimate the amount of resources needed to bring the project to fruition, and how the budget will be impacted at each stage. Each of the mentioned project management courses, though varying in modules, will teach candidates a systematic way of estimating expenditure.

See our page on Project Planning for more information.

Arrange Tasks Correctly

Failing to prioritise tasks in an orderly and methodical way means a project may fail.

A project management certification arms candidates with the skills to reduce risks to their projects by learning how to prioritise tasks in a way that delivers the greatest return on investment.

Consistency is Key

If a project comes in on time, budget and brief only once this cannot be classed as a success since successful project managers must fulfill these expectations every time.

The project management structure learned through training allows you to plan the tasks and roles using systematic approaches which deliver consistent results.

The Risk Factor

With any project, there is risk involved. However this is not to be seen negatively as without risk there is no opportunity.

Successful project managers plan for risks and changes to their operations and create strategic proactive plans that can be implemented should the risks arise. Learning how to control staff resources and budgets whilst estimating risk factors will allow you to manage your project to guaranteed success.

For more on risk see our page: Risk Management Skills.


Further Reading from Skills You Need


The Skills You Need Guide to Leadership

The Skills You Need Guide to Leadership eBooks

Learn more about the skills you need to be an effective leader.

Our eBooks are ideal for new and experienced leaders and are full of easy-to-follow practical information to help you to develop your leadership skills.


Increase Efficiency

Losing grip of time within in a project is a sure way for the budget and time frame to spin out of control.

Courses such as Prince2, APMP and Six Sigma teach students to optimise and organise staff resources. By ensuring the project is controlled centrally throughout each stage, you will improve client satisfaction and cash flow.

Improve your Confidence

One of the best things you can take from a supplementary course is confidence.

Equipping yourself with a globally recognised skill set will allow you to stand out in front of any future or current employer. Thanks to your new skills, your confidence will trickle into your working environment, boosting morale across the workplace.

Our page, Building Confidence explains the importance of self-confidence and self-belief.

What Project Management Course is Right for Me?

Each candidate will have different strengths, weaknesses and unique learning abilities.

  • If you are extremely self-motivated, and are good at managing your own time, then an online flexible course could be an ideal upskilling solution.
  • Those who engage better in a class situation will benefit from traditional location-based courses.

No matter what course you choose, you will learn globally recognised skills that deliver your projects with success each time. This will boost your career, your confidence and positively benefit your current place of work.


About the Author


Suzanne Vallance is an industry writer with skills in business and career development. She uses her knowledge to inspire candidates to achieve their full potential in the workplace.

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