Newsletter article – Pathways to become a Chartered Project Professional

This was the first event that we have organised for members interested in applying for Chartered Project Professional in the South West, and generated a lot of interest with 45 attendees.

We were fortunate to have Austin Witney, who is a Partnership Development Manager at APM, describe ChPP and the application process, and Alex Garrard from PA Consulting who has successfully applied for ChPP using Route 3, share his experience of the application process.

Austin explained that the Chartered standard sets the professional bench mark for all project professionals, Chartered is a globally recognised brand of professional excellence. He outlined the benefits for individuals, organisations and society of the Chartered Standard. Individually benefits are personal recognition and helping your CV stand out.

Assessment is against your technical knowledge and professional practice, your ability to apply your technical knowledge. This is assessed against 10 mandatory and 2 optional competences. The online guidance includes tools which can be used to check if you are ready to apply and to identify areas that require further development. Other APM support includes FAQ and online clinics which are free to members.

There are three routes to Chartered. Route One, for those who have a recognised assessment for technical knowledge, such as the PPQ qualification. Route 2, for those who have a recognised assessment for technical knowledge, such as RPP, and Route 3, which is an experiential route for those who do not have a recognised assessment but do meet the eligibility criteria. The number of recognised assessments as growing. There are 892 ChPP’s to date with 1179 in process. The majority of applicants are now Route 3.

Applications are online. Stage 1 is a written submission of evidence and Stage 2 is an interview.

Alex discussed his experience of Route 3 and being awarded ChPP. He shared his lessons, hints and tips.

The APM ChPP guidance is simple and clear – make sure you understand the requirement. The competencies describe both technical knowledge and professional practitioner criteria.

It is essential that the written evidence is presented as what you did and not what we/the team did.

If possible, it is really helpful to go through the process with others – share with each other and peer review. Work with a buddy.

Prepare the written submission gradually over a period of time. Don’t try to do it all at once. It will take a lot of editing to reach the word count of 250 words for each of the 12 competencies.  Use MS word and then cut and past into the tool.

Present evidence using the STAR approach: Situation, Task, Activity, Result. For both the written submission and interview.

Prepare for the interview.  Alex took about 10 hours.

You will be told who the interviewers are beforehand.  Do your research on LinkedIn – what is their background, is it different from yours, make sure you can communicate clearly with them to get your evidence across.

For the ethics questions make sure you understand APM’s code of conduct.

For Route 3, the first hour of the interview will assess your technical knowledge. Prepare by focussing on any gaps or weaker areas you may have.

Alex explained the benefits he has gained with ChPP. It has been very helpful in his career. It has firmly established his personal credibility with his peers and seniors. He has gained promotion.  It has enabled him to mentor others, and been useful for networking. Clients also appreciate that he has ChPP.

Martin Gosden

SWWE Branch Chair