PRINCE2® training courses (London)

Project management careers

Project management

Project management is the act of managing projects. A project is a temporary period of work commonly carried out to deliver products which are used to introduce change into an organisation. Projects differ from day-to-day business activities as they are strictly planned, and have a defined budget, deadlines and outcomes. To justify starting a project, a business case is written.

Salaries

If you enjoy teamwork, working to deadlines and have good leadership skills, then you’ll enjoy project management. There will be hard-work and long hours, but the sense of achievement you’ll get once the project is delivered will be immense. Project manager salaries are also excellent. According to Totaljobs, the average salary in 2018 for UK project managers is £52,500.

Project manager

A project manager is responsible for managing a project. To do this effectively they need great communication skills so that they can communicate with the stakeholders. In the UK especially, most project manager roles require a candidate to hold a PRINCE2 Practitioner certificate.

Related roles

Many project managers start in an entry level role like project administration or support. These are junior positions, working alongside a project manager. Roles like these will help you decide whether project management is the career for you. The experience gained in a role like this will also make moving into a project management role easier. For these less senior positions, a PRINCE2 Foundation certificate is usually mandatory.

For more information, read this guide to starting a project management career.

Certification levels

You can gain PRINCE2 certification by successfully passing the exams which are included as part of our PRINCE2 training courses. Many people complete the two exams during the week-long PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner course, but you can also do online courses and weekend courses. PRINCE2 exams can also be taken online.

The two PRINCE2 certification levels are:

• PRINCE2 Foundation - 1-hour exam, 60 multiple choice questions. You must score 33 correct answers or more to pass. Suitable for aspiring/current project support staff. Your PRINCE2 Foundation certificate never expires. You must pass the Foundation exam first before taking the Practitioner exam.
• PRINCE2 Practitioner - 2.5-hour exam, 68 multiple choice questions. You must score 38 correct answers or more to pass. Suitable for aspiring/current project managers. Successfully passing the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam gives you Registered PRINCE2 Practitioner status for 3 years. During those three years, you can keep your Practitioner certification fresh by accruing CPD points via the AXELOS Membership scheme, or you can just do the Practitioner exam again once the three years are up.

PRINCE2 and your job?

Good starting point

We can’t promise that gaining PRINCE2 certification will get you a job but it’s an excellent place to start!

Because so many organisations use PRINCE2, they’ll prefer to employ people with PRINCE2 certification. Without certification, you’ll be at a disadvantage compared to those who do. Just browse for project-based jobs on the internet right now. You’re bound to see PRINCE2 in the requirements for many of these jobs.

Your experience

However, gaining PRINCE2 and sticking it on your CV isn’t enough. You’ll also need some experience working on projects. Have a think about the experience you’ve gained in your current/past roles. If you are currently unemployed, try to get some work experience or an internship.

Finally, think about your personal life. Ever planned a wedding before? Well, that was project management even though you probably didn’t think of it as such.

Previous student’s experience

If you need some help deciding whether PRINCE2 will help your career, read this interview with one of our students. She attended our PRINCE2 Foundation course and gained employment shortly after.

Is PRINCE2 suitable for your organisation?

If your organisation wants to adopt a structured approach to project management, then PRINCE2 is the perfect solution. The PRINCE2 method can be used to manage any project, big or small. It doesn’t matter whether you are building houses, delivering humanitarian aid or rolling out new software.

Adopting PRINCE2 has many benefits. PRINCE2 helps prevent project failure, ensuring your projects are delivered on time, within budget and with less risk. It gives your team a common terminology to use and has clearly defined decision points throughout the project. This helps everyone know what needs to be done, when, why and by whom. In other words, PRINCE2 gives you control over your projects.

Need to persuade your boss to send you on PRINCE2 training? This article has plenty of advice for you.