The APM Project Management Qualification.
The PMQ is the Association for Project Management's knowledge-based qualification for project professionals. Most of our learners take it inside the levy-funded Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship, and it is also available as a standalone course.
TESS Group (Training Event Safety Solutions Ltd) is an APM Accredited Training Provider for the APM Project Management Qualification. Accreditation renewed May 2026, valid to 24 May 2027.
Two ways to gain the PMQ.
The qualification is the same either way. What differs is how it is funded, how long you have, and how much wider development sits around it.
Inside the Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship
The PMQ is built into the Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship (standard ST0310). The apprenticeship runs over a 15-month practical period followed by end-point assessment, with the PMQ criteria mapped across the programme rather than crammed into a revision block.
Levy funded, so eligible employers cover it through their apprenticeship levy instead of paying course fees. The apprentice also gets a full development programme, a dedicated skills coach and off-the-job learning around the qualification.
See the apprenticeship →As a standalone qualification
If you want the PMQ on its own, without the wider apprenticeship, we deliver it as a focused course. Live online with a tutor, applied to the projects you are already running, with exam preparation built in throughout rather than bolted on at the end.
Best suited to experienced project managers who want the credential formalised quickly, or teams that do not meet apprenticeship eligibility. Talk to us about dates, format and cost.
Talk through the options →What the PMQ actually covers.
The PMQ is methodology-agnostic and deliberately broad. It is the qualification that proves you understand how projects work, not just how one framework works.
Lifecycle and governance
How projects are structured from concept to closure, the governance around them, and where accountability actually sits.
Planning and control
Scope, scheduling, estimating, resource management and the controls that keep delivery on track when reality intervenes.
Risk and issues
Identifying, quantifying and managing risk, and the difference between a risk you manage and an issue you escalate.
Stakeholders and communication
Engaging sponsors and stakeholders, managing expectations, and communicating status so decisions actually get made.
Waterfall, Agile and Hybrid
The strengths and limits of each approach, and how to choose the right one for the context you are delivering in.
Exam preparation
Structured preparation for the APM exam throughout the programme, not bolted on at the end. We book the exam for you.
Built for people who already run projects.
You do not need the job title. If projects land on your desk, the PMQ formalises what you already do and fills the gaps you have been working around.
Practising project managers
You deliver projects but have no formal qualification behind you. The PMQ turns experience into a credential that travels.
Aspiring project managers
You are moving into the profession and need both the knowledge base and the proof to be taken seriously for project roles.
Managing projects in a wider role
Projects are part of your job rather than all of it. The PMQ gives you the structure to run them properly alongside everything else.
Four stages, whichever route you take.
Live online sessions with a tutor, using your own projects as the working context. On the apprenticeship route these stages are spread across the practical period alongside your wider development; on the standalone route they run to a tighter schedule.
Foundations
Lifecycle, governance and the language of the profession. Where your current practice fits, and where it does not.
Planning and control
Scope, schedule, estimating and resourcing, applied to a live project you are responsible for.
Risk and stakeholders
Risk, issues, quality and the stakeholder work that decides whether a project actually lands.
Exam and certification
Consolidation, structured exam preparation and your APM assessment. Online by default.
An accredited provider, not a reseller.
We are accredited by APM to deliver the PMQ directly, and inspected by Ofsted as a training provider. The assessment sits with APM; the teaching sits with us.
APM Accredited Training Provider
Training Event Safety Solutions Ltd is accredited by the Association for Project Management to deliver the APM Project Management Qualification. Renewed May 2026 and valid to 24 May 2027.
Ofsted Good, and publicly reviewed
We hold an Ofsted Good rating and a 4.9 out of 5 average from 732 verified reviews across Google and Trustpilot. The record is public, not self-reported.
Applied, not lectured
Sessions are live and online with a tutor, and everything is applied to projects you are actually running. You leave with practice that has been tested, not notes.
Exams handled for you
APM online exams are the default. We book your exam and prepare you for it throughout the programme, with paper by exception under APM's Reasonable Adjustments policy.
Frequently asked questions.
The PMQ, how we deliver it, and how the exam works.
What is the APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)?+
Is TESS Group an APM Accredited Training Provider?+
How long does the PMQ take with TESS?+
How is the PMQ exam taken?+
Who is the PMQ for?+
Which project methodologies does the PMQ cover?+
Is there a funded route to the PMQ?+
Ready to make it official?
A 25-minute call is enough to work out whether the PMQ is the right qualification for you or your team, and whether the funded route applies.