Beginner project management certificationsManage options

This category includes only those certifications that have no entry requirements and are suitable for new project managers or those who have some prior experience in project management and want to gain their first certification.Manage services

APM PFQManage {vendor_count} vendors

The Association for Project Management offers the excellent Read more about these purposesProject Fundamentals Qualification . The APM PFQ certification is for newcomers to project management.Accept

Candidates gain the APM PFQ certificate by learning basic project management concepts and terminology which will help you make a positive contribution towards any project.

This certificate is becoming very popular in the UK because it comes from the DenyAPM

Save preferencesAPM PFQ training which takes 2 days, or 25 hours if studying online.View preferences

PRINCE2 Foundation{title}

In the UK, a PRINCE2 certification is considered the industry standard in project management. The {title}PRINCE2 Foundation{title} certification tests your knowledge of  the PRINCE2 principles, practices, processes, and terminology of the Manage ConsentPRINCE2 methodology .To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

The certification is ideal for anyone who is new to project management making it a popular choice for employers and new project managers alike.

The PRINCE2 Foundation certificate is by far the most common project management certification in the UK.

To gain your PRINCE2 Foundation certificate, the typical learning path is to take PRINCE2 Foundation training which takes 2 days, or 20 hours if studying online.Functional

PRINCE2 Agile Foundation

In the UK, PRINCE2 Agile certifications are becoming increasingly popular as more projects operate within an agile environment.

PRINCE2 Agile Foundation certification is like PRINCE2 Foundation, except that it is aimed at people working in agile environments. The exam tests you on your knowledge of the core PRINCE2 methodology and agile concepts and terminology.

To gain your PRINCE2 Agile Foundation certification, the typical learning path is  PRINCE2 Agile Foundation trainingFunctional which takes 2 days, or 12 hours if studying online.

AgilePM Foundation Always active

Another UK certification which is suitable if you are working primarily in an agile environment is the AgilePM Foundation certification from the Agile Business Consortium. This is the most popular agile project management certification in the world, not just in the UK.

AgilePM is based upon DSDM, one of the first agile methodologies, and for this certification you are assessed on your knowledge of the underlying agile project framework.

To gain your AgilePM Foundation certification, the typical learning path is AgilePM Foundation training which takes 3 days, or 20 hours if studying online.

PMI CAPM

The Project Management Institute offers the The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.Certified Associate in Project Management  (CAPM)® certification. This certificate tests your knowledge of the fundamentals of project management and common project terminology.

Eligibility for this certification requires that you already possess a secondary degree and requires that you attain at least 23 hours of project management education completed before the exam. This certificate needs to be renewed every 5 years.

It should be noted that the CAPM certification is mostly popular in the USA, Canada, Africa, and Asia, rather than the UK.

To gain your CAPM certificate, a typical learning path is PreferencesCAPM training which takes 35 hours of online study.

Intermediate project management certifications

Intermediate project certifications usually have some entry requirements. We’ll start with the easiest and make our way up to the hardest.Preferences

Intermediate certifications require that you have a more detailed understanding of what project management is all about. These certifications test you on your ability to apply project management principles, practices, and techniques to life-like project scenarios.

APM PMQ

The Association for Project Management offers the  Project Management Qualification  which tests whether you have a deeper understanding of project management. The  APM PMQ  certification is usually taken by students having a few years’ experience of project management.

There is no prerequisite for this certification, so you do not need to hold the APM PFQ certificate already.The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.

To gain your APM PMQ certificate, the typical learning path is APM PMQ training which takes 5 days, or 35 hours if studying online.

PRINCE2 Practitioner

A StatisticsPRINCE2 Practitioner  certification requires that you first hold the PRINCE2 Foundation certificate. The Practitioner certification tests you on your ability to apply PRINCE2 to life-like project scenarios. More particularly, it tests whether you can apply the PRINCE2 principles, practices, and processes to a fictional project scenario.

After PRINCE2 Foundation, the PRINCE2 Practitioner certification is probably the top project management certification in the UK.

To gain your PRINCE2 Practitioner certificate, the typical learning path is StatisticsPRINCE2 Practitioner training which takes 2 days, or 15 hours if studying online. Training can also be combined with the Foundation certification. In this case, training takes 4 days, or 35 hours if studying online.

It should be noted that since the release of PRINCE2 7 ^th edition , the prerequisites for the Practitioner certification have changed. You must now hold one of the following certificates:

• PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Practitioner (6The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.^th edition)The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
• Marketing
• PMI ^® Certified Associate in Project Management
• PMIMarketing

 (PMP)^® certification is the most challenging one on this list. To be eligible for this certification you must have 3 years of project management experience and a 4-year college/university degree. Without a degree you require 5 years of project management experience. In both cases you also need at least 35 hours of project management education completed before the exam.

The PMI PMP^® exam covers every aspect of project management from your ability to plan projects to monitoring and controlling project tasks.

Maintaining your PMI PMP^® qualification requires you continuously accumulate Professional Development Units (PDUs), which are one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others, or volunteering.

If you want to gain your PMP certificate, a typical learning path is to take PMP training which takes 35 hours of online study.

Expert project management certifications

There aren’t a lot of certifications more difficult than those already mentioned. If you want to work as a project manager or are already employed in a project manager, an intermediate certificate will be all you’ll ever need.

The following certification tests your in-depth knowledge of project management but is really only valuable if you are already an expert with many years’ experience.

APM ChPP

The APM’s own Project Management Chartered Standard (ChPP) examination similarly takes place over 3 days. In the first 2 days you’ll be given coaching by a ChPP professional and get your paperwork in order. On the final day, interviewed a board and will have to provide comprehensive documentation of your work over the past several years.

The board will be looking to see that you’ve not only encountered several setbacks in your project management career, but that you’ve also overcome these challenges with a little ingenuity and out-the-box thinking.

Conclusion

This list of the top project management certifications is by no means complete. There are other project management accreditations out there, these just happen to be the most widely recognized certifications in the UK and EU.

No matter how much experience you have, or what you’re looking for a project management certification, there’s likely a certificate out there.

If you you’d like to gain any of the certifications listed in this article, why not look at some of the project management certification courses offered by Knowledge Train.