10 excellent reasons to be Chartered…

As a member of the Association for Project Management you have already demonstrated your commitment to professionalism in project management. And with the creation of the Chartered Project Professional we aim to create a respected designation that is recognised internationally and provides formal recognition for professional project managers.

Now we are officially a Chartered body, we will embark on the development of the new Register of Chartered Project Professionals.

Our skills as a profession are needed now more than ever, and it is important that the Chartered standard meets the needs of industry and society. It is particularly a requirement of our new status as a Chartered body that we develop a standard and create a framework that recognises the different routes that project professionals can take to reach it.

Only a Chartered body can set a Chartered standard and while there has been much debate in the profession over the years about what this will look like, we now have a lot of work to do to develop a robust model that is fit for purpose.

While we cannot yet predict what the new standard will look like, we do know what we want the Chartered standard to achieve and below is list of key characteristics that the Chartered standard will represent:

1. A recognisable mark of quality, setting standards of professionalism and performance
2. A commitment to continuing professional development and a code of ethics
3. Professional recognition of expertise
4. Practical experience combined with theoretical knowledge
5. Relevant to the needs of industry that allows chartered practitioners to have greater influence with their employers
6. Raising competence and improving project management skills
7. Offers a clear professional development route
8. Complements other professional accreditations
9. Accredited project management professionals provide assurance to employers, contractors and the public
10. The enhanced status of project management as a means of delivering effective change that improves our economy and society

The development of the Chartered standard is a significant undertaking and APM will be consulting with employers and other professional bodies to ensure that we develop the standard at the right level. During the consultation we will be creating an exemptions framework to recognise the range of qualifications, experience and knowledge of colleagues throughout the profession and develop a standard that reflects the enhanced status of project management as a means of delivering effective change. We anticipate that we will be in a position to open the Chartered Register in Spring 2018.

As APM chair I am privileged to be involved in this exciting chapter of the development of the profession and I would again like to express my personal thanks to everyone who has worked so tirelessly to achieve this milestone.

John McGlynn

APM chair