Project management courses and training

The best project management course for beginners would be a 1-day introduction to project management course. On this training course you learn the basic terminology and concepts of project management. You don’t need any previous experience of being a project manager.

After taking the 1-day course, and you later wanted to get a professional project manager qualification you could consider taking a PRINCE2 Foundation course, or Project Fundamentals Qualification course from the APM (the Association for Project Management) in the UK.

If you are based in the UK, then the best project management certification for beginners is either the PRINCE2 Foundation certification, or APM PFQ (Project Fundamentals Qualification) certification.

Both qualifications are entry-level qualifications in the project management profession. To pass either of the exams for these qualifications, you must show an understanding of key project management areas such as planning, quality, business case, risk, managing change and issues.

Both exams contain multiple-choice questions and courses can be taken online as self-study e-learning courses, or online in virtual classroom, or live classroom training courses with professional instructors.

If you are based outside of Europe, then the best project management certification for beginners would be the Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®.

The best project management certification in the UK depends upon your existing experience and qualifications.

For complete project management beginners, then you should choose either of the PRINCE2 Foundation certification, or APM PFQ (Project Fundamentals Qualification) certification.

If you work in an agile project environment, then you have 2 alternatives. You could take either the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation certification, or the Agile Project Management (AgilePM) Foundation qualification.

If you already have a qualification, then you should consider these options:

The best project management certification depends upon several factors - what you hope to do with it, and where you want to use it.

Let’s take location first. Undoubtedly, the most popular professional certification in the UK, Europe, and Australia is PRINCE2. In most of the rest of the world, qualifications from the Project Management Institute (PMI) are more popular.

So, if you intend to seek work anywhere outside the UK, Europe or Australia, then get yourself certified in one of the two PMI qualifications: Project Management Professional (PMP) ®, or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®.

If you intend working in Europe, get yourself certified in PRINCE2, and if you intend working in the UK, get certified at both PRINCE2 Practitioner and APM PMQ levels.

Project management online courses are available in PRINCE2, Agile Project Management (AgilePM), APM PFQ and APM PMQ, and PMI CAPM® and PMP®.

Whether you study online depends upon whether you prefer to self-study. Learning about project management from home is great if you cannot travel to a classroom course, for example you live a long way from a classroom course.

Studying online will also save you money. Online courses are often cheaper than classroom courses, and you don’t need to spend money on hotels or transport.

Plus, you can study at your own pace, in your own time, so you build your study plan entirely based upon your own needs.

Online project management training can typically range from 12 hours study time to 35 hours in the case of a PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner course. So, if you are planning on getting your 35 PDUs so you can apply to the PMI for your PMP® credentials, an online PRINCE2 Practitioner course will help you meet the criteria.

Before Covid-19 project management classes were available in many cities, but with employees confined at home, project management classes often take place online in a virtual classroom. All our classroom courses now take place as virtual classes using the latest digital learning technology.

In a virtual learning environment, you can take advantage of the latest educational technology and software such as online chat, interactive whiteboards, video, quizzes, and online feedback.

All your need to access a virtual classroom is an internet connection, a computer and web browser. It’s a modern form of distance education, but instead of submitting essays, you interact in real-time with your instructor and other students – just like you would in a real classroom. You can take your exams online at the end of the training.

What qualifications do you need to become a project manager?

This list of project management certifications might not be an exhaustive list, but it is nevertheless quite comprehensive. It also includes closely-related subjects such as programme management, portfolio management, and project offices.