Not wanting to revive a three year old thread on here about the Prince 2 project management qualification, has any body got any up to date information on how widely recognized this qualification is in Canada, cheers

PMP seems to be the way forward in Ottawa

It isn't.

Everyone seems obsessed with "PMP/PMI" over here.

Which is kind of ironic because projects still fail over here for all the same boring old reasons that they have always failed.

Anyhoo... if I recall Prince2's instruments such as project plans etc are all part of the PMP toolbox over here too. I mean its common sense really isnt it. I am sure you could bluff your way into an interview.

Prince 2 is just a methodology, and not many companies use it. It's only really of use if the entire company jumps into it, not just the project management group which does tend to limit it's usefulness. However that being said, having any methodology under your belt is a good thing and it still teaches good things.

I thought Primavera is more commonly used across the industry these days

I have both PRINCE2 and PMP and have wondered how they would be seen when i make the move over to Canada.

In London, UK, PRINCE2 is more sought after than the rest in my experience.

I really hope the companies over there can see more into experience and success over the specific methodology on your certificate.

A project is a project and as long as you can get a grip of terminology differences, it's all pretty much the same.

too right.

actually [it seems to me] over here its a lot about leadership skills than methodologies.

only one of those can be taught. if you have lots of the one that can't then you are in good shape.

just my personal experience

You might be surprised to hear this but Prince2 is definitely gaining traction here amongst practitioners who see it as a chance to mitigate risk on larger projects.

I recently attended the Project World and BA World conference here in Toronto and there were a number of sessions devoted to Prince2. There is also a Canadian LinkedIn Prince2 group you can join. York University (Schulich School of Management) offers certification courses in Prince.

I personally find Prince2 a much more disciplined approach than PMBOK. One of the things that has put me off the PMP certification is that I see too many incompetent 'managers' who are PMP accredited, which leads me to conclude that the PMP is little more than a cash grab.

I absolutely agree about your PMP comment. I got mine purely due to my employer at the time funding it and pushing for it.

I do hope Prince2 gains traction over there though.

I've done PRINCE2. Week long course, two exams. I passed it, but, wow, after that week the only sentences I could utter were PRINCE2 speak.

Even now, I can't even tile a kitchen floor without thinking about "issue logs" - I'm scarred.

Definitely PMP here - never heard Prince2 even mentioned here.....

Not strictly project management, but ITIL is catching on fast - worth getting if you can...

Hi Bodgerx,any good information from the course such as how much pre-course work and how much homework, etc I checked the prince 2 website and i could only find info on the exams, am looking a the foundation/practitioner 5 day course, cheers

For North America, PMP certification would be helpful. For the UK, Prince2 certification is more important and recoginised than PMP. Almost any PM recruiter would ask for a Prince2 certification - it has become the defacto for project managers.

Hope this helps

It was a while ago when I did it (thankfully) my memory is hazy. I did the 5 day foundation/practitioner course. I've heard it has changed now though (the practitioner exam was a lengthy essay style affair which I believe has now is different).

I seem to remember being sent the official book two weeks before the course with strict instructions to read through two of the chapters before I turned up. I duly did this, but the book is so incredibly dry - it really lacks practial application and real-world examples. Same for the course.

Each evening after the course, the tutor set a couple of hours of study and reading followed by some sample tests the morning after. It was all spoon fed to us. I wouldn't go over-board preparing before the course (unless you have a very bad memory or something).

I would recommend clearing your schedule completely that week - including evenings. I did mine when my wife was 39 weeks pregnant and keeping my mind fixed on it wasn't easy(!)

I have no links/resources to offer - I only used the book at the time, and I only briefly refer to the memory aid booklet they give you these days where necessary.

Hands down you should try to pursue the PMP certification. Once you've doen that then you could look into getting an MSP (Managing Successful programmes) mostly suitable for someone who wants to get into program management.

Prince2 is not that important in Canada but is in the UK, especially for government type projects. Hope this helps.