APMG accredits PA Consulting to deliver PPP Certification Program

APMG-International has accredited PA Consulting Group to deliver training for the its ‘PPP Certification Program’. The UK-headquartered consultancy has become the first organisation to receive the status, and will, in delivering the programme, be supported by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. 

With offices in 13 countries, APMG-International is one of the globe’s larger examination institutes and accreditation bodies. The company, which is based in the UK, develops and delivers qualification schemes, and accredits professional training / consulting organisations for the delivery of a range of business and IT areas. APMG’s key areas of focus lie in project and programme management, business change, IT and service management, and includes certification schemes for PRINCE2, MSP, Agile (AgileBA; AgilePM or AgilePgM), Lean Six Sigma, ITIL, PPM and Lean IT, among others.

The latest programme to be included in APMG’s portfolio is the ‘The APMG Public-Private Partnerships Certification Program’, also known as PPP. Designed to improve the quality of PPPs worldwide, the programme is an innovation of and a collaboration between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). The programme is part funded by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF).

“In the absence of a global certification program on PPPs, the programme has been developed to enhance knowledge and establish good practices for PPP professionals across the globe”, explains Richard Pharro, CEO of APMG.

The PPP programme consist of eight main chapters (see below) and has three key exams that need to be taken:

• Foundation: The Foundation exam tests whether a candidate has sufficient knowledge and understanding of the PPP Guide to act as an informed team member of a PPP finance project. The Foundation certification is a pre-requisite for the taking other two exams (Practitioner certifications).
• Preparation Stage: The Preparation exam tests whether the candidate has achieved sufficient understanding of how to apply and tailor PPP Frameworks and PPP Project Identification, Screening, Appraisal and Preparation Processes in a given governmental context.
• Execution Stage: The Execution exam tests whether the candidate has achieved sufficient understanding of how to apply the structuring and drafting Process of PPP tender documents and the PPP contracts, and the management of PPP contracts during the Construction and Operations Phases

Professionals that successfully complete the three exams are awarded the CP3P credential.

To support the deployment of the PPP programme, APMG has – similarly to all its other programmes – started to build a network of high-quality Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs). The first ATO to have joined the programme is PA Consulting Group, with over 2,600 professionals one of the globe’s larger management and technology consulting firms. The firm works with private and public sector clients from offices across Europe, the Nordics, the Americas, the Gulf and Asia Pacific. 

“We are delighted to announce PA as our first ATO”, says Pharro, adding “It’s an exciting time for this ground breaking programme.”

Mark Williams, property and infrastructure lead at PA Consulting, reflects on the accreditation. “PPP is probably the area where it is the easiest to measure the cost of not having the required skills in the public sector. The private sector and their funders will deploy the necessary skills, with attendant cost increases, if the public sector does not possess the capability to deliver a well-managed PPP procurement and subsequent PPP project, in a timely fashion. Therefore, PPP training and certification will support PPP professionals to adopt internationally recognised good practice.”

Earlier this year Scaled Agile named PA Consulting Group a Gold SAFe partner.