Following the successful launch of PM4NGO’s specialist certification for Project Managers working in the development sector, PMD Pro Level 1, we are delighted to be hosting the launch of a higher qualification – PMD Pro Level 2. The launch takes place at the NCVO in London on 29 May 2012 from 2.30 – 5pm.
The Official ITIL Accreditor has announced that the ITIL Master qualification is now available. This is the highest level in the Official ITIL Qualification Scheme. The qualification differs from other core qualifications as the assessment method is through written submission and candidate interview. Further details about the Master level are available here.
It’s also been announced that the accreditor has completed the Managing Across the Lifecycle (MALC) qualification review. Candidates studying in English for the MALC qualification can use the new guidance and take an updated version of the examination from today.
The new MALC qualification has a higher level of difficulty than the Intermediate qualifications. It’s aligned to ITIL 2011 and the exam has been increased from one and a half to two hours. The number of questions on each examination paper has increased from eight to ten.
You can read the full release from the accreditor here.
The EVA conference is known for its personal development and networking opportunities, providing insightful talks and presentations on how to become a better project manager using Earned Value Management (EVM).
This year will focus on cost, behaviour and benefits, so even if you don’t specialise in Earned Value, you are sure to gain from attending. Over the years, the EVA conferences have become renowned for their original presentations and speakers with innovative ideas.
APMG has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade Category. The Award recognises outstanding continuous performance over the last six years. This announcement is made following APMG’s appearance in PWC’s Profit Track published in The Sunday Times on Sunday 15th April 2012.
Richard our CEO and all the staff are delighted. Read our press release here.
We’re exhibiting at The Service Desk Show and at Infosecurity Europe this week, so we’ll be talking to people about this latest achievement. This means we can display The Queen’s Awards Emblem, and we’ll have a presentation by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, The Queen’s local representative, who will present us with a Grant of Appointment at a special Awards ceremony.
In addition later in the year, Richard is invited to a reception hosted by the Queen.
We’re exhibiting at the Service Desk Show next week on stand 105. We’ll be talking to delegates about our SDI qualifications which will be available for candidates to take from 1st May 2012.
SDI’s industry-proven and internationally recognized qualifications can help you get ahead throughout your IT support career. All SDI qualifications are based on the SDI Professional Standards, reviewed and updated every 3 years by a committee of industry experts, service management professionals and practitioners to reflect the latest industry developments and best practices.
Our new APMG-International Showcase website not only keeps you up to date with our global events, it’s a great source for free PPM and ITSM resources too.
Canada hosted its first Showcase in February and you may remember reading this blog post, where Ronn from our US office gave a review of the day and all the topics covered. The theme of the event was “Improving Project Performance and Optimizing Financial Value” and now you can access all the presentations on the Showcase website.
Covering topics from PPM strategy, transformational change and portfolio management to maturity models, value management and the cloud, there is a great deal of information from the Canadian Showcase. The presentations provide useful graphs and tables to simplify PPM methodologies and processes as well as developing your understanding of where they originated from and the reasons why they have become successful. Additionally, there are numerous examples of successful implementations.
APM Group is one of 100 companies listed in the Sunday Times Profit Track
APM Group featured in The Sunday Times Profit Track supplement on 15th April 2012. The Table lists 100 of Britain’s private firms with the fastest growing profits. If you missed the supplement you can see the listing here.
Speaking about the achievement Richard Pharro, our CEO, said, “It’s great news that APM Group has been listed as a profitable organization. We’ve worked hard to deliver global certification schemes with our partners. We will continue to find ways to help our Accredited Training and Consulting Organizations expand their markets. Our aim is to be the world’s leading provider of professional certification so I’m delighted that we have been recognized as one of an elite group of organizations.”
APM Group was listed at No. 69 in the table of 100 organizations.
When I read the 2012 Arras People Project Management Benchmark Report, I was interested, but not surprised, to find the project management community is an ageing one. 47% of respondents were employed project managers but only 25% were under 35. 16% of respondents were employed programme managers, and 92% of them were 35 or over.
Why are young people avoiding project management as a career? Perhaps they don’t consider it a profession but part of a job, so they don’t specialize in it. The skills required to be an effective project manager are highly transferable - knowing how to manage change, people and processes are valuable in any profession. The PPM community would certainly benefit if this was more widely understood.
When we started working with LINGOs and PM4NGOs on the PMD Pro qualification scheme, we couldn’t have imagined how much of an impact the scheme would make – both on us and on the professionals who are using the qualification to make a difference. PM4NGOs has been piloting the higher “Level 2″ qualification and in this video you can hear feedback from one of the first candidates to go through the training:
The Level 1 qualification has now been taken by around 2000 project managers working in the field.
We would like to say a huge thank you to them, and to LINGOs and PM4NGOs for their professionalism and commitment to improving conditions for thousands of the world’s most disadvantaged people.
We all know how important knowledge, understanding and experience are when applying for a job or new role. Your CV can discuss your skills and experience, but how do you prove it? Competition is fierce and employers want to be certain that you will deliver to the standard you presented at the interview stage.
According to the Times Higher Education research, it is not uncommon for university graduates to earn 30-80% more than individuals who stopped at the end of upper secondary education. This is mirrored by the Arras People Project Management Benchmark data, which determines that accredited PPM practitioners receive higher salaries and day rates than those who are not accredited. This is then broken down into how APMG’s PRINCE2® and MSP® qualifications, as well as APM’s APMP certification, benefit PPM practitioners financially.
About APMG-International Blog - Learning Trends for Professional Managers
APMG-International is a leading Examination Institute. We accredit professional training and consulting organizations and manage certification schemes for knowledge-based workers. We have a global reach, with regional offices located around the world.
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