We are happy to announce that QRP International is one of the launching partners of the PM² Group. The PM² Group is a non-profit consortium of professionals and organisations that facilitate and promote the usage of the PM² project management methodology.

What is the PM² Project Management Methodology?

PM² is a project management methodology developed by the European Commission. Its purpose is to enable Project Managers to deliver solutions and benefits to their organisations by effectively managing the entire lifecycle of their projects. PM² has been developed and supported by the European Union Institutions, with their projects in mind but is transferable to projects in any organisation.

Until the end of 2016, the PM² Methodology and Certification was only available to the staff of EU institutions. With the OpenPM² Initiative, the European Commission decided to provide open access to the PM² Project Management Methodology beyond purely EU institutions and including Contractors, Member States and finally all European citizens. PM² captures the experience of EU institutions from managing thousands of projects, change initiatives, programmes and grants.

What is the purpose of the PM² Group?

The purpose of the PM Group is to facilitate access to PM² learning materials, training, and PM² Certification for non-EU staff members. The PM² group is the first public PM² certification program to comply with the internal certification program of the European Commission for EU staff.

Like all the other members, QRP International is an active contributor and supporter of the PM² Methodology and works to establish a foundation for better and more efficient European projects.

The PM² Group is the first organisation to offer a public certification based on the internal certification guidelines of the European Commission with the same certification levels for theoretical and practical knowledge.

Why choose the PM² Group Certification?

The PM² Group offers PM² Project Management Methodology courses in accordance with the European Commission, Centre of Excellence in PM² (CoEPM²), to non-EU staff. QRP International is part of the PM² Group, the only certification institute that meets the European Commission’s standards. Both certification programmes have exams with the same covered topics, the required level of understanding, number of questions, passing score, and exam time. For the first time, non-EU staff can now be certified the same way as EU staff.

In short, the PM² Group Certification:

• Offers a Programme and exam which align 100% to the EU syllabus
• Is equivalent to the internal EU Certification programme
• Is available in multiple European languages, among which English, French, Italian, Spanish & German

Who is the PM² Group Certification for?

PM² helps establish a common project management language and process for projects across organisations, increase effectiveness, collaboration efficiency and success in the coordination of projects in the EU.

Using PM² is especially effective for managing projects within:

• European institutions
• Public Administrations and non-governmental organisations
• Service Providers to these administrations and institutions
• European coordinated or funded projects
• Private companies with a significant project portfolio.

The PM² Foundation certification is aimed at Project Managers and aspiring Project Managers. It is also relevant to other key staff involved in the design, development and delivery of projects.

Would you like to learn more about the PM² Project Management Methodology? Take a look at our website or write to us for more information!

Every year in October, the teams of the QRP Group, QRP International and QRPeople unite their forces to raise awareness for breast cancer.

This year, we handed out "handmade" creations of Charlène and Manon from Atelier Celcius to have our employees proudly wear Pink October pins. In this way, QRP participates in its own way to support and raise awareness of the campaign against breast cancer. All profits of the pins are donated to the Breast Cancer Research.

Why Pink October?

Belgium has the highest rate of breast cancer in the world. It affects 11,000 women, which means 1 out of 8. The objective of Pink October is an organized screening programme within your country in order to detect breast cancer early and reduce mortality. If breast cancer is detected early, it can be cured in almost 90% of the cases.

Pink October is a prevention campaign highlighting the risks of breast cancer and promoting scientific research as well as support for women and men (yes, men too!) who unfortunately are affected by this medical condition.

Through our initiative (and all those organized around the world), we like to promote breast cancer screening.

Useful links for more information

• Think Pink
• Know your breasts guide

What if you took advantage of the Summer to learn? Combining business with pleasure is now possible with QRP International's E-learning solution. This summer, we offer you a 25% discount on all our E-learning packages! Did you know that if you take one hour of training a day, you could be certified in less than a month? Alternatively, you can extend your learning time until Fall or Winter.     Have a look at our E-learning offer and choose between: - PRINCE2 Foundation - PRINCE2 Practitioner - PRINCE2 Combi - AgilePM Foundation - ITIL Foundation What better way to showcase your skills and stand out to recruiters before the start of the new school year than with a new certification? Our E-learning courses are available 100% in French or English. Learn when you want, where you want! The offer is valid until 31/08/2022 and is limited to 3 E-learning packages per company. Book your E-learning now!

In times of rapid change, organisations are challenged by the rapid pace of technological innovations. The question that many business leaders may face is how to create value for customers in these fast-moving environments. The answer might be: choosing to become more agile!

The Importance of Business Agility

Agile product delivery is needed, but is not necessarily satisfying. Companies have a need for business agility. This means that all departments need to use Lean and Agile practices to continually and proactively deliver innovative business solutions in a fast and efficient way. SAFe®, an enterprise framework for scaling agile, has the guidance to help organisations get there. It is an agility framework at scale, which means that instead of having an agile team it will imply an agile transformation for the complete organisation.

Leading SAFe

QRP International is now a Scaled Agile Bronze Transformation Partner. We offer the Leading SAFe training, which prepares you for the SAFe 5 Agilist certification. The Leading SAFe course enables attendees to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise successfully into the adoption of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). After an introduction to SAFe, the training provides best practices and methods that can drive your Lean-Agile transformation. Thanks to SAFe 5.0, your organisation can become the Agile business it needs to be and win in this digital age.

Why choosing SAFe

If you want to become a lean-agile leader, choosing SAFe could be the best solution for your business. The framework is well suited to complex projects with many teams involved. Some of the benefits of the framework include:

• Guarantee technical agility of teams
• Drive and support organisational change
• Leverage the benefits of Agile, Scrum, Lean, DevOps and Kanban
• Support project management with moref agility, thus providing stakeholders with faster feedback
• Internationally accredited SAFe certification for worldwide success

Want to know more? Visit our page: SAFe certification For any further questions you can write to us!

Good news! QRP now offers a course that is specially designed for hospitals and aims to introduce hospital staff to the basics and best practices of project management. The training focuses on improving project management within your organisation and aims at developing the existing project operation. At the end of this training, you will be able to act as a qualified member and collaborator of a project management team within the hospital.

What are the objectives of the PM for Hospitals Training?

You work in the hospital and are (going to be) part of the project team? This could be for you. Following the completion of the course, you should:

• Understand the main concepts related to projects and why projects are carried out
• Define a project, create a project plan and monitor it
• Translate the Best Practices of project management to a hospital environment

It is desirable, but not essential, that you have some work-experience on projects. The module does not lead to certification, so there is no examination.

Why the PM for Hospitals Training could be relevant for you?

The PM for Hospitals Training is for everyone involved in Project Management related to the hospital sector. But more in particular, this could be:

• Project Managers and Coordinators
• Project Members
• Project Team Members
• Team Managers
• Staff Members

Why is Project Management important in healthcare?

Project management in healthcare is distinct because it takes complexity and risk to a whole new level. There has been an increase in the number of healthcare professionals over the last years. The amount of work that healthcare organisations require for project management to continually improve operations is large. Read more: healthcare project management challenges and benefits.

Benefits of Healthcare Project Management

Strong project management helps improve healthcare and hospitals in a number of ways. Project Management for Hospitals can ensure:

• That the technical composition of the project team is based on the project objectives
• That team members can implement the project
• That the politics of integration are not underestimated
• That team members genuinely relate to each other as peers

Project Management for Hospitals can improve:

• Quality of care by improving processes
• Communication among healthcare staff
• Organizational planning
• Budgeting
• Relations with stakeholders
• Staff productivity
• The mitigation of the risk

Want to know more? Visit our PM for Hospitals course page!

You find a job offer that attracts you and want to apply... but how can you highlight your qualifications? Certifications can be useful in making your application stand out in the recruitment process. Whether you have a long career, several degrees or masters, or professional training that has led to professional certifications, there are many ways to include these certifications in a CV to catch the recruiter's eye. Professional certifications demonstrate a certain passion for you as a candidate. It can be a particular interest in the industry, or the profession in which you work and therefore be proof of specific expertise and skills. As a first step, you should evaluate your various certifications and decide for each certificate whether or not it is relevant and significant enough to include on your CV for the position in question. Obviously, if the advertisement explicitly states that the company is looking for a profile with certain certifications and the recruiter does not find these certifications for the job on your CV, you may not be selected. Hence the importance of highlighting your professional certifications. Any certification can make your CV shine and be the thing that makes the difference. However, there are rules for highlighting your qualifications on your CV.

Where to put my certifications on my CV?

If they are critical to the job, you can put them in four places:

1. After your name
2. At the top of your CV summary
3. In a special certifications section
4. In your work experience section

What information should I include?

A certification is a document that proves that you have acquired a specific skill and is issued by an accredited body. When adding a certification to your CV, specify the following information:

• Name of the certification
• Name of the certification authority
• Date obtained

Remember that valid certifications are only issued by a third party with an appropriate licence.

How to list an ongoing certification on your CV?

You can include a certification that is still in progress on your CV, if it is essential for the job you are applying for, by adding the words "in progress" or "ongoing", to the description, and specifying the expected completion date.

Can I include an expired certification on my CV?

Generally It is not acceptable to list old or expired certifications on a CV. If you have a certification with a possible expiration date, it is essential that you renew your certification before that date in order to include them on your resume. Finally, it is very important not to include certifications that you do not have.

How can I include my certification on my Linkedin profile?

It is possible to add your certification to your Linkedin profile. Indeed, certifications are a great way to highlight your professional knowledge and achievements also on your LinkedIn profile. Here is the link to find out how: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/44644/manage-licenses-certifications?lang=en

Insider Tip

When you follow a course with different levels of certification, for example PRINCE2, which offers the PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner certifications:

• If you get the Practitioner level, write PRINCE2 Practitioner
• If you are only awarded the Foundation level, write PRINCE2 (without specifying Foundation)

In this way your certification retains its positive effect with recruiters and demonstrates that you have mastered the basics of the method.