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Project management experts participated in seminar on the importance of practical and academic certifications

What is the value of a practical certificate in project management and does it assists in job placement? Project management experts participated in a special evening organized by the Department of Industrial Engineering and the Israeli foundation for project management (PMI). 

During the seminar, Avi Rosenberg - lecturer at the Department of Industrial Engineering and member of the PMI management - presented findings from several research papers that deal with the certification process in the field of project management. Findings show that institutions (academic and non-academic) have a broad offering of certification programs including PMI, PRINE2, and IPMA, however practical certification is yet to become a prerequisite for most jobs in the field. Nonetheless, it provides corporate recognition and wage compensation (about 10%-20%).

The estimations are that by the year 2020, about 50 million people will carry the title 'project managers', said Rosenberg, and added that "today, only about 2.5 million of product managers have an actual practical certificate, which indicated a great business potential for companies offering certification processes".

Rosenberg also mentioned that countries with a high percentage of certified project managers, such as the UK, have about 15% uncertified employees, both in the private and public sectors. "If there are among you some who wonder if they should complete an academic certification and top it off with a practical certification, I say it can be the best move to promote your professional career", added Rosenberg.

Ronen Roash, manager of the PMO group that supplies project services to Amdocs, presented a case study from his company that employs about 2,500 people worldwide. "Academic education and practical certificates are crucial when hiring new employees. The necessary skills and education from an employee depend on the role he or she are competing for. After being accepted, employees begin a never-ending training so they could be constantly updated with innovations and development in their field", said Roash. 

"Beyond employers' demands regarding formal certificates, commercial or professional companies also promote this field and reward employees who have the right certificate", Rosenberg summed up the event. 

Top of page: photo illustration by Flicker public commons, Robert Higgins

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