Certification: Your PMO Policy?

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Career Development   PMO   Talent Management  

Take a look at any job board that includes project management jobs and you’ll find that many positions will state that a certification is required, preferred or desirable. Whether it’s the PMI, IPMA or a more specific qualification, it’s clear that people put a lot of credence in these certifications when hiring. Similarly, when staff join the PMO from other areas of an organization there is often an expectation that they will follow a certification path within a specified time period. So what are the options, and what should you be thinking about in determining whether your PMO should require certification?

Some sweeping generalizations
In the relatively short length of this article I can’t possibly cover all of the different certifications, so I am going to make some sweeping generalizations. They may not be completely accurate for your specific situation, but I think that they are general enough to allow you to follow my reasoning:

1. Certification is generally tiered, but there is a single certification level that is considered by employers and PMs as “the standard”
2. Most or all of the requirements to gain the accepted standard defined above is based on a combination of experience and knowledge rather than on a review of project management ability
3. Many employers consider the standard to be a “one and done&…

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