PRINCE2 practioner certification

wildman · 1 Jul 2009 at 19:22

I want to get a PRINCE2 cert but don't want to do it through work as if they pay for us to get any profesional qualifications we have to sign a contract that ties us in to the company for too long.

I was going to go for one of those 5 day course where you sit the exams at the end but I am not sure if I can get that much time off work in one go. So I was wondering if it is possible to do distance learning for this and then go and sit the exam when you are ready ?

If this is possible is it just best to look for the distance learning packages from the official PRINCE2 website or is there a reputable educational instiution on line where I can get this from ?

Scrutinize · 1 Jul 2009 at 19:30

Its only about 1500 to do the course yourself and the foundation and practitioner course is 5 days all in.

You can do the foundation as a 2 day course then the practitioner part as a 3 day to split it down for time off work etc.

neil3k · 1 Jul 2009 at 19:36

mrk1@1 said:
Its only about 1500 to do the course yourself and the foundation and practitioner course is 5 days all in.

You can do the foundation as a 2 day course then the practitioner part as a 3 day to split it down for time off work etc.

not really answering his question is it ?

Scrutinize · 1 Jul 2009 at 20:12

neil3k said:
not really answering his question is it ?

It did in part,

For someone wanting to do Prince2, a bit of resourcefulness would be beneficial. however

Try http://www.apmgroup.co.uk/home/home.asp for all your Prince2 resources including training companies.

As for training companies, there a quite a few and it is difficult to recommend one but these have a reasonable reputation (formerly the training camp) and if you haggle you will probably get up to 30% off course fees at the moment. http://www.firebrandtraining.co.uk/uk/home.asp

The pass rate on the practitioner part of the course is not that high. Check what the training institutions average is. Also if you are not currently using Prince2 or exposed to it, it is not that easy to get through in the 3/5 day courses.

Chojin · 1 Jul 2009 at 20:15

What are the implications of you leaving after doing the course? If you just need to repay the fees then may not be so bad. Self study would certainly be less expensive though if possible.

Moredhel · 1 Jul 2009 at 20:18

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18017907

A thread recently about doing the prince 2 course without any pre-training.

I'm very surprised at people saying the pass rate is low. Everyone I know who has taken it (I work for a Project Management company, I know a lot of Prince 2 qualified people) passed with ease and minimal prep, myself included and I don't do project management, I'm a consultant / dev!

Scrutinize · 1 Jul 2009 at 20:20

Moredhel said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18017907

A thread recently about doing the prince 2 course without any pre-training.

I'm very surprised at people saying the pass rate is low. Everyone I know who has taken it (I work for a Project Management company, I know a lot of Prince 2 qualified people) passed with ease and minimal prep, myself included and I don't do project management, I'm a consultant / dev!

It is more do do with the quality of the trainer as this varies hugely and the fact a lot of poeple try to do the course who aren't of sufficent aptitude which brings the averages down.

Django x2 · 1 Jul 2009 at 23:36

I wouldn't bother with Prince2 if I'm honest. I found it a total waste of time and there are far better courses recognised. Project managers are two a penny at the minute with not enough jobs.

If you want to do this, you need to make sure its fundamentally relevant to your career path both short and long term.

caff · 1 Jul 2009 at 23:47

Lucero said:
I wouldn't bother with Prince2 if I'm honest. I found it a total waste of time and there are far better courses recognised. Project managers are two a penny at the minute with not enough jobs.

If you want to do this, you need to make sure its fundamentally relevant to your career path both short and long term.

I disagree, PRINCE2 can be a huge boost to a CV, particularly if you self-fund and self-train. I am hugely impressed by people who take this route - it shows they are committed to self progression.

As for trainers, I have lots of links with project management through both family and friends and cannot recommend SPOCE highly enough.

Django x2 · 1 Jul 2009 at 23:49

caff said:
I disagree, PRINCE2 can be a huge boost to a CV, particularly if you self-fund and self-train. I am hugely impressed by people who take this route - it shows they are committed to self progression.

I agree. 3-5 years ago. Most corporate employers I know won't bat an eyelid at Prince as its too easy to obtain. I had to retrain when I started at my present employer even though it was sucking eggs.

smorgan · 3 Jul 2009 at 14:07

Prince2 offers from Firebrand Traninig

Currently Firebrand Training is running the following offers for the Prince2 course

- Course price includes Free accommodation, Free meals and Free exam vouchers.

- If you enrol on the Prince2 course then you are also entitled for 50% discount on the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) course.

The Prince2 course covers both the Foundation and Practitioner exams.

If you are looking for funding/financing options, there is a section on the website for more details.