Execution respecting budget and quality requirements is the key element for a successful economic and entrepreneurial initiative.

Project management doesn’t only affect the creation of a new product or service, but also the launch, the definition of a new internal process or the improvement of an already existing one. A structured, logic and organized activities management means improving the company operative side and, therefore, have a real opportunity to keep and increase its competitive advantage in the market.

Project Management is the set of “rules” defined to structure project activities. These rules enable companies to limit the risk of failing in the various and unpredictable field of projects. In this scenario, Project Managers play a key role, because they are the first responsible for the achievement of project goals. They are required to keep on monitoring and integrating the outputs from single project activities and to continuously coordinate all the project stakeholders: not only the professionals personally involved in the project development, but also the customers, suppliers, and company management.

This is not an easy task, because, together with the necessary technical competence, they are required to have organizational and communication skills, the ability in finding out possible risky situations and an attitude in problem solving. To sum up, Project Managers must be rigorous, have method and a good deal of creativity to face unexpected project difficulties.

If it is not easy for companies to choose the right people to manage projects, it is even harder for professionals to objectively prove their capabilities and attitudes. Considering such critical points, project management certifications become a necessary requirement, because they represent a form of acknowledgment for the Project Manager professionalism delivered by international institutes. In fact, certifications are the guarantee that a professional has the necessary culture and experience to awarnessly and skillfully play such a delicate and important role. On the one hand, they represent an important personal acknowledgment, because getting a certification is determined by rigorous exams and depends on strict competence and experience requirements. On the other hand, Project Managers within a company enable to enrich the way projects are managed and to improve performances, thanks to an educational process concerning Project Management methodologies, tools and techniques.

The set of knowledge and competences defined by a Certification Institute has even a higher value when it is shared among a great number of professionals. In fact, it can be easily used as a common knowledge basis to establish an effective relationship with customers, suppliers and commercial partners, from different nations or sectors, too. From this point of view, Project Management Certifications are functional to foster company internationalism and a multidisciplinary and interfunctional project development.

The tendency to ask for certified Project Managers, which has been taking place in Countries like US or Great Britain for several years, is increasing in Italy, too. According to the Project Management Institute (the most internationally acknowledged Project Management Institute in charge of one of the main Certification systems) certifications increased from 25,000 in 2000 to more than 250,000 in 2007, reaching 430,000 if we also consider the certifications by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and the British Office of Government and Commerce (OGC). In fact, it is growing the awareness of how important Project Management certifications are as a guarantee of the best performance for the required work. Furthermore, they have been more and more frequently required by international and (for some years) national calls for tenders.

CEFRIEL is leveraging on the value of Project Management as a key asset for the success of its innovation initiatives. In particular, since 2006 it is officially acknowledged by the PMI as a Global Registered Education Provider (REP) to offer courses to achieve the PMP® (Project Management Professional) Certification.
This last one is worldwide promoted by the Project Management Institute and is certainly the best known and most pursued certificate of personal competences acquired by means of Project Management methodologies and techniques. The course aims at preparing for the exam through a gradual transfer of the “body of knowledge”, defined by the PMI, about the most effective Project Management methodologies, techniques and practices. At the same time, the course foresees a systematic check of learning processes, which represents the best “training” for the final exam.