Top 10 Things People Do Wrong When Choosing a PMO Course

PMOs play a crucial part in organisations and the delivery of projects. In order to perform their role in a PMO successfully, professionals will often seek out PMO training courses to enhance skills and increase their knowledge in certain areas.

As the PMO world is evolving there are now more training courses available that are PMO-focused, so how do you choose the right course to take?

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about completing a training course:

Why are you wanting to complete a training course?
What area of PMO do you want to learn more about?
What benefits will a course give you?
What budget is available?
What availability do you have?
How is the course run?

The next step once the questions above are answered is to look at which course is right for you. At PMO Learning, we have a range of certification-based courses and specialist courses.

Certification courses are available at each of the four career and experience levels, PMO Administrator, Analyst, Manager, and Director. We have the Essentials suite of courses for those looking to focus on performing their role successfully. We also have the P3O® Certifications, Management of Portfolios®, and P3 Governance.

Our specialist courses are being developed all the time based on what you, the PMO practitioner are asking for. These are designed to fill your skill gaps in key PMO areas such as Benefits Management, Assurance, Lean-Agile, or Value Streams.

To ensure all our customers make the right choice when choosing a PMO training course, we have created a list of the ‘Top 10 Things People Do Wrong When Choosing a PMO Course’ so you can avoid this in your future decision-making.

Not fully reading the website – Our website is full of different links and paths to go down. We have pages on each course we offer with extensive details about the delivery of the course, the content, benefits, and the next steps for booking. If you would like to book directly through our website, familiarise yourself with all the information about the course and any pre-requisites you need.
Not asking questions – It’s always a great idea to speak to us directly when choosing a PMO training course. Call us, and tell us what you do and what you want from a training course. You may find that your experience and responsibilities may be suited to a different course than what you had in mind.
Being overconfident – You may think you’re ready to take the next step and go for the manager or director course but it’s important to make sure you have the knowledge and experience to keep up with the content. For certification courses such as Analysts, Managers and Directors there are a list of pre-requisites in which you will need to have at least one to be able to join the course. Similarly, for P3O® or MoP® Practitioner courses you will need to complete the Foundation level to be able to join the practitioner.
Overqualified – On the other hand we also want to make sure you’re not overqualified for a training course. If you have the title of Administrator but are working at an Analyst level, you may be better suited and will get more out of the analyst course. Get in touch to discuss your role and course options.
Having someone else choose a course for you – Your manager or HR department may be in charge of choosing what course they think is best for the business, but it’s important that you have your say and discuss any areas you personally want to improve on.
Only going for what’s popular – We have popular courses such as the Essentials suite or P3O® but if you want to enhance your skills and knowledge in a specific area, you may be better off taking a specialist course such as Assurance for PMO Professionals or Benefits Management.
Price – We know that there will be a budget usually in mind before booking a course and you may be tempted to go for whichever fits this, however it’s important you have value for money and the course fits your needs rather than just the price.
Only choosing certification-based courses – Certification courses look great on a CV and passing an exam will prove you have retained the knowledge learnt on the course, however we have a range of specialist courses available which will give you in-depth knowledge in certain areas of PMO, and they include exercises and activities to test your knowledge. You will also receive a certificate of attendance for completing any specialist course we offer.
Only committing to one course – Did you know we offer bundle rates for P3O® and MoP® courses that will save you money rather than booking individually? We also offer a returner discount for booking more than one course with us, get in touch to find out more.
Not fully invested – To ensure you get the most out of your training course we want all delegates to be fully invested and get the most out of the content. All our trainers work in or manage PMOs, so they will bring real life examples and experiences to add to the content so you’re not just learning off a textbook or syllabus.

Overall it’s important you choose the right course for yourself and get the best value for money.

If you want to make sure you are making the right decision, book in a call with our training specialist to discuss your options and we will guide you to the course that best suits your needs.

To view all our upcoming course, click here.

Enjoying Our Blog?

The MoP® courses on this page are offered by PMO Learning. MoP® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited. MoP® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

The P3O® courses on this page are offered by PMO Learning. P3O® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. P3O® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.