News

QRP is pleased to announce its Advisory Board to develop the activities of the company. This board is composed of Carl Lenaerts, Guy Ballantine and Andrea Franco. The Advisory Board's mandate is clear: to provide strategic guidance, offer insights and recommendations on key business decisions and review and assess new initiatives and opportunities. With their collective expertise, we are confident that the Advisory Board will inspire QRP to grow reaching new heights of success. At QRP we welcome this new addition to our team and now it is time to introduce our advisers that will help us develop professionals to facilitate changes. Before reading their interviews on our Best Practices blog, we have prepared three teasers for you to enjoy below! Stay tuned and excited…

Carl Lenaerts

Carl Lenaerts has worked for one of the biggest Belgian banks. In 2009, his banking career ended there as a MidCorp and a corporate banker. Then, he joined as country operation manager of a cinema chain called Kinepolis. In 2023, after an 18-month-experience at Standaard Boekhandel, he became the CEO of Plopsa. It is one of the most leading family theme parks in Europe that also includes aqua parks, indoor parks, hotels and villas. Our favourite quote from his interview: “Being part of a team is to be able to explain something difficult in a simple way”. Read his interview here!

Guy Ballantine

Guy is a CEO, COO and board adviser who transforms businesses through operational improvement, data-driven growth strategies and M&A. He has experience across Private Equity, Public Limited Company and Limited Liability Partnership businesses in multiple sectors, including HR Tech, Education and Business & Professional Services. Besides his executive roles, Guy also enjoys combining his advisory and commercial skills by being a board advisor to help other senior leaders. Our favourite quote from his interview: “If we listen to each other we can find the answers and solutions to most challenges". Read his interview here!

Andrea Franco

Andrea Franco began his career in 1987 at Fiat Auto SPA, working both in his hometown of Turin and internationally, particularly managing start-up projects for new plants. He then worked at Case New Holland, Iveco and Fiat Group Purchasing, before returning to FiatChrysler Automobiles. After a short experience in Datalogic, he joined Marelli in 2019, where he currently holds key roles in production, quality, purchasing and management of the Green Technology Solutions division. Our favourite quote from his interview: “The project manager is the captain, the figure to whom all must refer in order to accomplish the mission". Read his interview here! The formation of QRP's new Advisory Board represents a significant milestone in our journey towards continued growth and evolution. We are confident that the collective expertise and leadership of our board members will lead to greater success.

Today, we're thrilled to unveil our revamped logo. The changes to our logo design capture the essence of QRP’s core values, blending modern aesthetics with a touch of tradition. It reflects our dedication to continuous innovation and excellence.

A New Chapter for QRP International

This logo marks a new chapter for QRP International, and we're excited to embark on this journey with a refreshed visual identity. In 2023 QRP International celebrated its 20 Years in Business. The modernised logo should represent our promise of being a trustable partner in continuous learning to our clients.

Developing Professionals to Facilitate Changes

At QRP we work continuously to help professionals improve their skills and support both organisations as individuals throughout their learning journey. We want to improve your way of working. Our training courses can help unlock individual potential and achieve a higher level of structure and efficiency in the organisation, leading to an increased productivity.

Join QRP International in celebrating this exciting milestone.

Do you know who is behind QRP? Meet our team!

PRINCE2®, the world’s leading project management method, has evolved to meet the needs of the future. The method has been updated to reflect the modern realities of managing successful projects in the 21st century, incorporating the latest processus, tools and technologies to stay ahead of the curve. All changes come together in the latest edition, PRINCE2 7. QRP International offers PRINCE2 7 training not only in English, but now also in French and Dutch. PRINCE2 has been the gold standard for global project management practices since 1996. It is a flexible and adaptable method that can be tailored to any project, regardless of size, purpose or industry. PRINCE2 7, the latest version, addresses the changes in the project management sector and adapts to evolving working practices and technologies.

PRINCE2® 7 enhances Project Management

With PRINCE2 7, project management is brought up to speed with the current business environment and it is enhanced in the following ways:

• Emphasising People: PRINCE2 7 recognizes the vital role of individuals in project success, incorporating a human element into its methodology.
• Sustainability in Project Performance: PRINCE2 7 introduces Sustainability as a critical aspect of project performance, aligning projects with environmental and social responsibility goals.
• Digital & Data Management: It incorporates a digital and data management framework to meet evolving project management needs.
• Enhanced Adaptability: PRINCE2 7 offers greater adaptability for customization to specific project contexts, empowering managers to align projects with strategic goals.
• Integration with Agile, Lean and ITIL: It provides guidance on not only integrating Agile and other Best Practices, but also on digital transformation projects, fostering collaboration and responsiveness.
• Designed for all professionals: including aspiring or experienced project managers, using simplified language and content which makes it more accessible to all.

PRINCE2 7 meets modern project demands, equipping managers and teams with refined tools for complexity management and excellence. Its significance is bridging the gap between structured project management and the dynamic demands of today’s business environment.

PRINCE2 7 Training and Certification

The new edition of the PRINCE2 method has been officially launched early September 2023. QRP International has been offering courses in English since that moment. As PeopleCert recently also launched the translations of the PRINCE2 7 method, QRP International offers PRINCE2 7 Training also in French and Dutch. QRP International has made sure all our trainers are certified in PRINCE2 7 and are ready to train you and your team too. We provide the PRINCE2 7 Foundation, Practitioner and Combi training both as classroom and virtual training in English, French and Dutch. Our PRINCE2 E-Learning in English and French are based on PRINCE2 7. Our PRINCE2 7 certification training courses also include complimentary Take2, which is one free exam resit should you fail on the first attempt at the examination. For more information, feel free to contact us. In collaboration with PeopleCert, QRP International organised a webinar to talk you through the latest update and explain why now is the best time to get PRINCE2 7 certified. Furthermore, you can also read our blog: “What’s new in PRINCE2 7?”

This May we celebrate the 20 year existence of QRP International. We are happy and delighted to have reached this milestone and look forward to the next 20 years!

The history and the DNA of QRP

Exactly 20 years ago, on a hot July day, our CEO Coos heard a strange noise coming from behind him. Wondering what it was, he looked around the small mediaeval flat on the walls of Bergamo's old town that he had rented when he decided to move to Italy. The strange noise came from the fax machine: he had just received his first ever registration for a PRINCE2 course!

After Coos organised his first PRINCE2 course (in Italian!) he decided to rent an office and to hire his first intern, a young university student by the name of Michelangelo, the current Chief Operating Officer of QRP International. This was the start of a team of 25 employees, with dedicated departments like operations, finance, marketing and sales growing over the years.

In 2006 already 1,000 people were trained by QRP International, and in 2008 the first million in revenues was celebrated. A specific market strategy for Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland was developed and these countries became the core of QRP International. In 2015 QRP started a dedicated blog on different topics related to Project, IT Service Management, Agile and Change Management that now reaches more than 200,000 annual visits. In 2020 we also started offering virtual classes due to Covid, besides the more traditional live classroom format.

Through all these years our main goal has been and still is to develop professionals to facilitate changes, which inspires our team and forms the value proposition of our company.

We cannot repeat our Core Values often enough:

1. We do our utmost to make our clients happy
2. We enjoy working together as a team
3. We keep our word
4. We are committed to our professional development

Awesome QRP Initiatives and Fun Facts about the Team

Besides organizing courses and developing professionals, QRP International also has devoted its time to charity. We strive to give back to our community by making a positive impact on society. QRP contributes €1 euro for each person trained in the fiscal year.

With regards to one of our team building activities, QRP has called into life the QRP Days. Born in 2007, the QRP Days bring the full team together for a day or two with the aim of learning from each other. During these days we also invite our trainers around the world to come visit us in Italy so we can get to know each other better. In this way, we live our values together.

And then some Fun Facts about the Team! We work with 75 trainers worldwide, we have count 9 different nationalities in our QRP office and we welcome new employees by treating the whole team to a brioche. Recently we organized a table-soccer competition during lunch breaks, and we go for a coffee walk every day after lunch. Real insider tip: did you know that the most common QRP zodiac sign is a Capricorn?

QRP’s Future

At QRP we work continuously to help professionals improve their skills and support both organisations as individuals throughout their learning journey.Our mission is to help clients when they are tired of losing time and money on their projects and processes. Our training courses can help unlock individual potential and achieve a higher level of structure and efficiency in the organisation, leading to an increased productivity.

In order to do so, we plan to expand our business beyond the countries that are already operational and to establish a presence in other mature markets across Europe. We stay close to our Core Values, both for working with our clients as for the relationship with our own employees. Through great social initiatives that keep developing, we continuously value having fun together as a team; we only just established our QRP Social Committee! We’re just getting started…

As in 2023 we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are grateful that we had the opportunity to work with many great clients and help many professionals achieve their goals. We look forward to continuing this journey of providing the highest quality training solutions to our clients, and to contribute to their ongoing success.

For our 20 years of success we have to thank not only our clients but especially our trainers which lead us in a bright future and make us such a competitive business.

Do you know who is behind QRP? Meet our team and follow us on Linkedin!

Starting from 2023, PeopleCert announced that all Global Best Practice certifications will need to be renewed after three years. This way PeopleCert can assist candidates in their lifelong journey and inspire them to keep on developing their professional skills. Besides retaking the same exam or taking further courses and certifications, the third option is collecting and logging CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points.

How to log your CPD Points each year

You can further develop your professional skills by logging CPD points through the MyAxelos portal. To keep your current certifications valid, CPD points can be logged against an individual or multiple certifications. For each Product Suite, candidates must submit at least 20 CPD points each year, across different categories of CPD, for three years consecutively. At the end of this period, your certification renew-by date will be extended by three years, and the cycle will repeat. These points must be submitted by the date on which you originally passed your most recent exam within the Product Suite. For example, if you originally passed the exam on 1st April, your 20 CPD points must be logged by 1st April each year.

What are the PeopleCert Product Suites?

Renewing a certification can be done within the same product suite. An ITIL® 4 certification will not be renewed by obtaining a PRINCE2® certification, but could be renewed by taking any other ITIL 4 certification, such as ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support. Product suites are as follows:

• ITIL 4 Product Suite: All ITIL 4 certifications
• Project, Programme & Portfolio Management Product Suite: PRINCE2®, PRINCE2® Agile, MoR®, MSP®, MoV®, MoP®, P3O®

What are the different categories of CPD points?

Below you can find some examples (a more extensive overview can be found on the PeopleCert website):

• Professional experience: applying best practice in the workplace or coaching colleagues in relation to best practice
• Professional education: PeopleCert certifications or other certifications from non-PeopleCert accredited training organisations
• Community: organising or attending industry or best practice related events

For any questions, please reach out to us anytime or have a look at PeopleCert’s website.

Are you looking for a light, lean, concrete and equipped project methodology? Participate in our webinar and discover PM², the European Commission's project management method. PM² is a flexible and modular project management methodology that can be adapted according to the needs of any project. It consists of three main phases: initiation, planning and execution. The methodology also includes monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure the project’s quality. PM² is designed for use in projects of all sizes and complexities. It is particularly suitable for projects that involve multidisciplinary teams and external partners, such as research and development projects. To help project management professionals better understand and apply the PM² methodology, we are hosting a free webinar available in four different languages. This webinar will cover the main concepts and practices of PM².

PM² Project Management: harmonisation and united in diversity - Webinar

We invited our experts Natacha Brenner (EN/FR/DE) & Eusebio Gianodomenico (IT) to host the webinar. In just 30 minutes the webinar aims to provide an overview of the PM² methodology and seeks to clarify what makes the methodology stand out. Our experts will highlight the advantages of using PM² in an interactive way. Questions and active participation are encouraged! Choose your language and register to one of our webinars:

ENGLISH - May 11, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM² Project Management: harmonisation and united in diversity"

FRENCH - June 15, 2023 11:00 AM

"Gestion de projet PM² : harmonisation et solidarité dans la diversité"

GERMAN - May 30, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM²: Harmonisierung und in Vielfalt geeint"

ITALIAN - June 13, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM² Project Management: armonia ed unità nella diversità"