APM Salary and Market Survey 2020 says that 31% of those surveyed put the issue of training, skills, and development as the top challenge the project managers will face during the upcoming years.
If your goal this year is to put yourself ahead of the curve and get studying for a certification, then I’m here to help!
There is a dizzying array of courses out there to help you achieve project management qualifications, both for PMI courses, PRINCE2 courses and more . Here are the ones I think are worth taking a look at.
In this article:
BrainBOK
Product: BrainBOK
Certification:
BrainBOK is a
It’s also got built-in quizzes to help you brush up on your terms, flashcards and the all-important practice exams to get you ready to face the test for real.
I tried it and I’ve never seen anything like it. If you want to understand the ITTOs then this is a fully interactive tool that will definitely do the job. Perfect if you want to deep dive into the
Plus they have a free option with (very) limited features so that you can try before you buy. Check it out here.
Get BrainBOK's comprehensive suite of PMP® exam prep tools, including a full training program, ITTO pack, flashcards, practice exams and a formula guide.
Read my full review of BrainBOK here.
The PM PrepCast (and others)
Product: PM PrepCast, Agile PrepCast, Exam Simulators
Certification:
No round up of training courses to help you get through the PMI exams would be complete without a nod to Cornelius Fichtner. Creator of the PM PrepCast, which has helped thousands of students get through the
The products I’d call out as the ones I personally enjoyed using the most are:
The PrepCast itself: a self-paced video course that covers everything (and I mean everything) on the course outline for
PM PrepCast Elite
The PMP exam simulator. This is a hugely valuable tool for preparing for the exam because it mirrors the environment you’ll see in a real exam. Given that you’ve now got about a minute to answer every question, you need to feel as confident and familiar with the online test-taking environment as you can. This will really help you prepare.
If you are shooting for the
You can read my full review of the PM PrepCast here.
Brain Sensei
Product: Brain Sensei
Certification:
Brain Sensei is a PMP® Exam Prep Course, but it’s unlike other courses I’ve seen or taken because it is based in feudal Japan. Plus, the main character is a female Samurai. When I went through the first Module I was drawn in from the beginning – who doesn’t want to be the project manager who rallies the community to build a castle to protect our children and the village?
It’s online video-based training and it’s really well put together. It actually made me want to learn about process groups, which is a rare thing.
There’s also a test, so you can assess your progress as you go.
If you learn well through video but need a good story to keep you engrossed in the material, this course will be perfect to help you prepare for the
Logical Model PRINCE2 courses
Don’t be put off by the thumbnails for these courses. They look BUSY. But your tutor, Simon Harris, really knows his stuff and he is focused on helping you both get through the course material and make it applicable in the real world.
He’s one of those few trainers who understand that you need the textbook knowledge to ‘get the ticket’ and you also need the skills to do the job.
Simon has two online e-learning video PRINCE2 courses. The PRINCE2 Agile® Exam course includes mock papers and your exam fees so you get a total package.
The PRINCE2 course is on pre-release as not yet all of the videos are loaded, but there are 200 up there so it’s not far off being ready. It also includes mock exam papers and your exam fees, so if you can’t give up a week out of the office, this is a complete all-in-one study package.
One thing I would say about these courses is that they are hard going. There is a lot of content, it’s broken down into small chunks so the overall impression that you get when you first log in is overwhelming. Take some time to learn about how to navigate between sections and you’ll soon get the hang of it.
Simon also has some free project management courses available and others aimed at those taking PMI qualifications.
Finally, one last training resource, although this won’t necessarily lead to a qualification.
OnlinePMCourses.com
Product: Project Manager’s Immersion Program
Certification: None particularly
If the project you have been set is too important to get wrong, and too big or complex to bumble through, then it’s time to get some structured training.
Yes, you can put together your own training course from free resources online (including mine) but sometimes you just need someone to hand everything to you on a plate.
Which is what Dr Mike Clayton does in this comprehensive course. It’s equivalent to 4 days of live training and snags you 16 PMI PDUs as well. There is over 14 hours of video, over 50 templates, more than 80 worksheets and you really won’t be left with questions at the end.
If you aren’t looking for something so comprehensive, Mike also has courses starting at rock bottom prices (and some free ones) so check out OnlinePMCourses if you want something professional but not necessarily with the overhead of an exam.
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Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK and the award-winning blogger behind