Every company wants superstar employees, but not all superstars show up on your doorstep fully formed. Employees who have the potential to flourish with the right skills development can become something great with PMP certification training.

PMP stands for Project Management Professional, the same name as the professional designation that trainees can earn upon completion of the appropriate courses and exams -- this certification speaks to its holder's mastery of the skills needed to run a project in any workplace setting.

PMP courses are a great form of continuing education to offer your employees. Before you commit to making this investment, though, you should make sure your workers are truly ready to take on this responsibility and the new functions it will qualify them to perform. Here are a few reasons to start thinking about making PMP training available in your organization and some standards you'll need to be sure that your employees meet prior to extending that offer.

Why Provide PMP Training?

Having the right talent in your organization's managerial positions is one of the most important factors for success. By training people for these positions internally, you can have more control over your available talent pool and ensure that you never have to hire a candidate who doesn't meet other requirements just because they are the only worker you can find with the right credentials.

Further, PMP training has been proven to boost productivity, especially in small and medium-sized companies. The extra revenue this strategy provides might be just what a budding company needs to grow.

Hard Requirements

PMP certification is conditional on meeting a few firm requirements, such as:

Completion of Secondary or Tertiary Education

Candidates are eligible for certification with only a high school diploma, but can have the experience requirements reduced if they have at least a bachelor's degree. This shouldn't be an issue for many of your employees; less than 10% of workers over 25 had yet to complete high school in 2016, and nearly 40% had earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

Years of Experience

PMP candidates with a high school diploma must have spent at least 5 years working in some sort of project management capacity, with 7,500 hours in those years having been spent personally leading projects. For bachelor's degree holders, 3 years and 3,500 leading hours are required instead.

If one of your prospective candidates doesn't meet this stipulation, you have the option of arranging for them to acquire the necessary experience within your company. This will also give you both a chance to see whether they really are suited to this sort of role while there is still little to lose.

Project Management Education

All applicants must also complete an additional 35 hours of project management-focused formal education. This is usually accomplished through a dedicated prep course.

Successful Completion of an Exam

Finally, applicants must successfully pass an examination testing them on knowledge specific to the PMP program.

Soft Requirements

Beyond initial stipulations, you should also consider some more intangible criteria, including:

Diligence and Loyalty

Giving employees PMP training is useless if the employees don't really want to be PMP certified. You want the employees you choose for this initiative to stick with the program and truly commit to learning while doing it. This means selecting only those who you know can take on a long, difficult task and still get it done.

Leadership Ability

PMP-certified workers will usually be called upon to lead large teams, so you should identify employees who are willing and able to take on that responsibility. Look for people who do well when taking charge and who seem to crave more chances to show that -- and since a leader is also the person ultimately responsible for the success or failure of an endeavor, make sure they have good personal accountability too.

Scholarly Aptitude

Not all people learn equally well from classes and books, which is the style of learning that is primarily needed for PMP training. An employee may show great drive and initiative in their current role and outwardly appear to be an excellent candidate for this kind of program, but that doesn't guarantee their success.

Before you commit to anything, ask them a bit about their level of interest in this kind of work; those who think they may struggle with the coursework may be fairly candid about this fact. These individuals might still deserve a promotion or some extra investment into their professional development, but it should be tailored to their strengths to achieve the best possible results.

Do You have an Employee Who's Ready?

Employees who qualify to earn a full PMP certification and who have the dedication to see it through to the end will always be a valuable asset to you. Help them reach their full potential by enrolling them in Infotec's PMP Certification Prep Course. This course will help them fulfill the project management education requirements. For more information, connect with Infotec today!

For more information about Infotec or any of our programs click here: http://www.infotectraining.com/ or https://ops.infotecpro.com/course_schedule/course_schedule.cfm.