Want to take your IT skills to the next level? Romaric, who worked in IT for more than 15 years and now manages his own training company Value Insights, will guide you through the hottest certifications you should obtain in 2020 to accelerate your career in Switzerland.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
For anyone working in Project Management, the PMP certification issued by the Project Management Institute (PMI) should be at the top of your list. The PMP is the most recognised Project Management certification worldwide and there are currently over a million holders. It is recommended to enrol in a course preparing for the PMP exam via a PMI Registered Education Provider (REP).
The requirements are the following:
Completion of a minimum of 35 hours of Project Management training
Successful passing of a 4-hour exam, containing 200 multiple choice questions
At least 4,500 hours of hands-on professional Project Management experience
Finally, it is worth noting that the PMI emphasises the importance of Agile methodologies and shall provide arevision of the exam contents as of July 1, 2020 to reflect their growing importance.
Credible alternatives: PRINCE2, HERMES.
PRoject IN Controlled Environment (PRINCE2)
While the PMP certifies that you have practical Project Management experience and theoretical knowledge of PM tools and techniques, PRINCE2 is designed to teach you how to manage a project from start to finish.
PRINCE2 is a Project Management methodology, which was developed during the 1980s by the UK government in the wake of many disastrous and impactful IT project failures.
The requirements – both for the Foundation (1st exam) and Practitioner (2nd exam) certifications – are the following:
Completion of classroom-based training (2+ full days) or online course
It is recommended to sit the exam in the
context of prior hands-on professional Project Management experience
Credible alternatives: PMP, HERMES.
HERMES
HERMES 5 is a Project Management methodology for IT, services, products and business organisations. It was developed by the Federal Administration of Switzerland. The HERMES methodology is not limited to any companies, but rather applicable across many sectors. Several Swiss cantons,cities, educational institutions and private sectorcompanies have successfully introduced HERMES 5.
HERMES 5 is an open eGovernmentSwitzerland Programme Office (eGov) standard.
Credible alternatives: PMP, PRINCE2
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
If you are new to Agile methodologies or would like to get your Agile knowledge recognized, the Certified Scrum Master is the oldest and most recognized Scrum certificate worldwide. The Scrum framework is designed for developing and sustaining complex products and is now often used in high-complexity projects with evolving requirements, providing an alternative to the Waterfall methodologies.
Requirements:
Take a 2-day, face-to-face course from a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST) by the Scrum Alliance.
The Certified Scrum Master is administered bythe Scrum Alliance, which was notably founded by Ken Schwaber (Scrum co-founder).
Credible alternatives: Professional Scrum Master (PSM I), Licensed Scrum Master (LSM).
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) certificates
With SAFe, you are not only attempting to bring Agility to a team but to an entire organization. SAFe is a well thought out, innovative and modular framework, which can be employed to effectively manage programs and portfolios within medium to large organizations. SAFe is the most popular scaling framework in the world and many Swiss companies have already implemented it to some degree. SAFe is overseen by Scaled Agile Inc.
The latest version, SAFe 5.0, focuses on Business Agility and Customer Centricity but there is a myriad of certification options available with SAFe.
Requirements:
The exact work required depends on the course. A previous exposure to Agile methodologies is recommended.
Mid to large size companies can generally see an increase in productivity and quality when employees are SAFe certified.
Credible alternatives: LeSS (LargE Scale Scrum), Scrum@Scale
Click here for the latest IT Project Management roles or contact us.
Value Insights is a professional training and coaching company located in Switzerland with a focus on Lean-Agile and modern IT Service Management. They offer Licensed Scrum, SAFe, ITIL and related Agile and IT Service Management training in the Basel, Zurich and Bern areas.
