01 November at 12:00PM
PMI Certifications and the Role of the Toronto Chapter
Project management is becoming a powerful and widespread practice in business. Studies indicate a growing demand for project managers worldwide. Employers will need to fill nearly 2.2 million new project-oriented roles each year through 2027, meaning skilled project management professionals are in high demand. PMI is a globally recognized institution for project management standards, chapters, communities, and certification.
On October 7, PMI Toronto hosted an interactive event to provide information about PMI Global, the PMI Toronto Chapter, and PMI's two most popular certifications: CAPM® and PMP®.
The Speakers
Dennis Abuan, PMIT Board Director; Claire Dobbin, PMIT Board Director; and Sergio Rodrigues, PMIT VP, Academia, moderated the event; the speakers actively engaged with the audience throughout the session. Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, PMIT Chapter President, was also present at the event.
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading association for project, program, or portfolio management. Through global advocacy, collaboration, education, and research, PMI works to prepare more than three million professionals worldwide. PMI Celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019; it works in nearly every country to advance careers, improve organizational success, and further mature the project management profession through globally recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses, and networking opportunities. ProjectManagement.com creates global online communities that deliver more resources, better tools, extensive networks, and broader perspectives as part of the PMI family.
PMI has chapters around the globe. These chapters are local communities focused on project management in different geographical areas. The primary purpose of these chapters is to create a project management community to fulfill the objectives set by PMI Global to:
- spread knowledge
- network with professionals
- use tools
- advance project management careers
PMI has 18 Chapters across Canada, one-third of them are in Ontario.
Role of PMIT and Membership Benefits
Founded in 1975, PMIT is PMI’s most prominent and longest-standing Canadian Chapter and second-largest PMI Chapter Globally. Currently, PMIT is a community of 5500; about 68% of PMIT members are PMP certified. It is a non-for-profit organization run by 277 volunteers and managed by ten elected board members. The Chapter is divided into eight main portfolios each managed by a board director and then supported by the PMIT President and the Secretary-Treasurer.
PMIT's mission is to be the primary source of project management leadership by establishing, engaging, and growing the Toronto project management community through the positive impact of the profession. Its values involve growing the network of project management professionals. Currently, PMIT has a community of thousands of project managers that one can meet and network with at Chapter events. PMI credentials are globally recognized thus, able to open up doors to industries all over the world. Additionally, by being a PMIT member, one can contribute to their local community by volunteering with PMI. The membership helps to boost a person's career to the next level. Thus, being part of this community allows individuals to gain quick and easy access to the latest trends and the knowledge they can leverage professionally to grow and advance their careers.
PMIT has many branches and communities within the Chapter. The branches and communities include:
Through its Academia portfolio, PMI supports different colleges and universities offering project management programs, (e.g., Humber, George Brown, Centennial, Seneca, Ryerson, Yorkville, York,
U of T, etc.), and many other groups of universities and affiliates within those institutes. As a part of the PMI Global community, student members get access to the PMBOK® Guide and many other benefits. Moreover, the PMIT membership fees are highly discounted for students. Membership benefits also include:
- Access to the free digital copy of PMBOK®, and digital resources such as PMI standards+ and many PMI practice guides
- Save on the CAPM® examination fee
- Access to member-only pricing for credential & renewal fees, various virtual and live PMI events, webinars, and online courses
PMP® and CAPM® Certifications
The Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) are the two most popular PMI certifications. CAPM® is ideal for people beginning their careers and who have no previous project management experience. On the other side of the coin, PMP is for experienced project managers. Regardless of their career stage, the CAPM® certification is an asset that will distinguish a candidate in the job market and enhance their credibility and effectiveness working on—or with—project teams. In addition, when upgrading to PMP® from CAPM® the 35 hours of education requirement is exempt for the CAPM® certification holders.
The major differences between the two certificates are as follows:
PMP Exam Changes
PMI has made several changes to the PMP exam for 2021. The exam will continue using the PMBOK® 6th edition as a reference, however, the content focus has moved from the process groups to domains—People, Processes, and Business Environment. In addition, about half the exam represents predictive project management approaches, while the other half represents agile or hybrid approaches. Another change includes inclusion of PMI's digital publications through PMIstandards+—a digital solution for PMI standards and guides and original, shareable how-to articles, case studies, interactive graphics, video, and audio content that are applicable to projects across industries and approaches.
There is also a change in format and duration of the exam with a 230-minute exam duration, the same score for 180 questions (reduced from the previous 200), and variance of question patterns (changed from exclusively multiple-choice to a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and fill-in-the-blanks).
More Information
For more information on the certification and training program offered at PMI Toronto please visit the Certification and Training section to find out more about the courses offered and upcoming dates.
