Building

professionalism in

project management

Julie Legge

Head of Membership

Association for Project Management

Topics

What is professionalism?

Why do we need it?

How APM can help you develop your professionalism

FIVE Dimensions of Professionalism, FIVE Dimensions of Professionalism logo, APM and Association for Project Management are trade marks of Association for Project Management

Defining Professionalism

As defined by the UK Interprofessional Group Professional Regulation Position Statement 2002

A professional is a practitioner with

specific skills rooted in a broad base,

has appropriate qualifications from a

recognised body, undergoes continuous

development and operates to a code of

conduct

What is the need? “It’s time for the

profession to stand

up and be counted” Sir Peter Gershon

PWC Insights and Trends: Current Portfolio, Program and

Project Management Practices 2012

“Major projects in government are announced and money is committed to them without the assurance that a project leader

and team with the right capability have been put in place. This lack of attention to identifying the right skills and experience

is alarming to anyone who has seen the premium that is placed on specialist skills and experience for the leadership of

major projects in the private sector”

Lord Brown of Madingley, Getting a Grip, March 2013

Global Demand for New PM Roles

PMI Skills Gap Report 2013

375K 1,364K 582K 24,906K

1,642K 8,857K 2,610K 103K 58K 946K

“Between 2010

and 2020 the

global PM

workforce is

expected to

increase by

13.4M to 41.4M”

Global Professional Certifications

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

Th

ou

san

ds

Professional Certifications By Level

Expert

Practitioner

Foundation

APM 4%

PRINCE/SWIRL

57%

PMI 30%

IPMA 9%

Share by Provider

Estimated 7% total global PM

workforce with professional

certifications

APM estimates based on data from a range of published sources

Who values what? Candidate Employer

PPM experience e.g. ability to show that I have delivered before 1 1

Domain/sector knowledge and experience 2 3

Personality / personal style and approach 3 2

Professional accreditation e.g. Prince2, MSP, APMP 4 4

Educational achievement e.g. First or second degrees 5 5

Arras Benchmark Report 2013

What employers value

How to develop professionalism?

The core components A framework or methodology which defines the processes

and practices for the organisation

A competence framework to map levels of knowledge and

experience at appropriate levels

Qualifications to provide developmental opportunities and

recognition of competence at appropriate levels

A continuing professional development scheme that broadens

horizons and builds understanding through sharing of good

practice

Recognition that true professionals should be accountable for

their actions and adhere to a code of ethics and professional

conduct

Breadth: Discover the new Bok Plus

Depth: Assess your competence

Achievement: Qualifications

Professionalism = knowledge +

experience + ethics

+ leadership

Senior

practitioner /

expert

Practitioner

Foundation

Ca

pa

bil

ity

le

ve

l

Many standards

Some standards

Few standards

IC

APMP

PQ

Competence =

knowledge + experience

Knowledge

Assessment

Commitment: Stay connected

Accountability: through membership

Built into everything we do

APM

Registered

Project

Professional

Corporate

accreditation

Academic

accreditation

Who is doing it?