The system of certification of professional project managers of Ukraine
The UKRNET/Cert Certification Department of The Ukrainian Project Management Association “UKRNET” is accredited by the UkrSEPRO system experts and has a certificate of compliance with DSTU of Ukraine ISO 9001:2008.
The UKRNET/Cert Certification Department of The Ukrainian Project Management Association “UKRNET” has been internationally validated for compliance of the IPMA® 4-L-C certification program with the IPMA® rules and received an appropriate certificate.
In accordance with NCB, the national standard of Ukrainian project managers certification published in 2006 and structured on the basis of the ICB international standard of The International Project Management Association IPMA®, the Ukrainian Association collected a team including the certification program director, assessors, auditors and the research and guidance council on development of the certification system and of the Association in general.
Certification is carried out by the international assessors, professors S. D. Bushuyev and N. S. Bushuyeva.
The certification program encourages professional development of project managers and members of their teams responsible for project implementation in order to: widen and improve their knowledge, experience and professional management skills; support the process of their continuous education; improve the quality of projects management; ensure the achievement of project objectives.
Levels, career and maturity
The multilevel system of certification allows taking into account the advanced professional education. The four-level system of IPMA® certificates issuance is based on practical performance of a scope of typical commitments when managing a project, a program or a project portfolio. Such scopes of commitments within an organization provide an opportunity of career progress for persons with secondary education aiming at receiving a post in a company connected with work in the field of project management. These levels determine the mechanisms of career planning in organizations and of creating advanced training programs for natural persons and for companies. The four-level system of IPMA® certification provides the following levels of certification:
Level D under the IPMA® system – a certified project manager’s assistant
Level C under the IPMA® system – a certified project manager
Level B under the IPMA® system – a certified senior project manager
Level A under the IPMA® system – a certified project director
Acknowledgement of certificates
The certification performed by The International Association IPMA® provides acknowledgement of qualification on the international level by similar organizations. It supplements and reinforces the other technical, commercial and other equivalent types of qualification, e.g. the European Standardized Qualification System showing that a person who has received a certificate also possesses the key ability to manage projects. Owing to it, the individual skills obtained in one organization or industry can be acknowledged in another. The certification also increases the confidence of its participants in their ability to manage projects and in their general commercial skills.
Advantages of certification
The IPMA® Certification System determines the standards as well, used by the organization for hiring, training and advanced training of project management personnel; this system provides an instrument of marketing to the organization showing its aiming at leadership and high qualification of its personnel in the field of project management. The IPMA® Certification System has the following essential advantage: besides other appropriate skills of employees, it helps to make the customers confident of the company’s ability to observe their business interests efficiently and with minimum of costs.
Education and training
The candidate can choose where it is more suitable to get qualification. The self-assessment as a component of the IPMA® Certification System helps the candidates to assess their strengths and the features requiring additional attention. Such assessment allows the candidate to take a better grounded decision about selection of a corresponding training or preparatory course. The IPMA® Certification System also provides opportunities to educational institutions for more efficient work with their customers contributing to their career progress in project management.
Harmonization
The IPMA® qualification standards (ICB) form the framework of the IPMA® basic certification system and provide the instrument to assess the level of practical qualification in project management. This standard is a fundamental document for professionals and parties concerned as it determines the criteria of knowledge and experience the managers of projects, programs and project portfolio shall possess.
The standard represents the basic terminology, tasks, approaches, skills, functions, management processes, methods, procedures and instruments used in practical and theoretical work in project management, as well as special knowledge and experience of applying innovative and advanced approaches to be used, if necessary, in rarer situations. The IPMA® qualification standards (ICB) provide access to technical, behavioural and contextual qualification components of the project management. As this profession keeps developing, it is extremely important that persons who deal with project management as professionals have access to the most actual information.
The program of certification applied by each particular object of certification is based on National Qualification Standards (NCB) which are based in their turn on the IPMA® qualification standards (ICB).
Based on this certification program, The Ukrainian Project Management Association as the national representative of IPMA® has developed a program of certification and a necessary set of means for its implementation oriented at peculiarities of Ukrainian culture of project management. During 16 years (1998-2015) the Association has certified under A, B, C and D levels over 1300 professional project managers.