APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ)
Why Choose Us
The APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) is a globally recognised entry-level certification that introduces you to the core principles of project management. Based on the APM Body of Knowledge, it covers best practices to help you understand how projects run. Ideal for beginners or those in support roles, PFQ is a great first step toward a project management career and boosting your professional value.
What’s included
In your APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) Course
This introductory course is perfect for those starting out in project management. The APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) covers essential principles, processes, and terminology to help you understand how projects run. With practical insights and expert support, you’ll gain a recognised, entry-level certification that builds your confidence and lays the foundation for a successful project management career.
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What You Will Learn
The APM PFQ is an entry-level course designed to build your understanding of the key principles, processes, and language of project management. You will develop a clear picture of how projects are structured, managed, and delivered, giving you practical knowledge that can be applied in real workplace situations. By covering the full project lifecycle and the roles, tools, and techniques involved, the PFQ provides the perfect starting point for anyone beginning a career in project management or looking to strengthen their understanding of the subject.
Understand Project Management
Begin by exploring what makes a project unique compared to routine operations and why projects exist as a way to deliver change. You’ll learn the core purpose of project management, how it provides focus and structure, and why it adds measurable value to organisations. This section also introduces how projects fit into the wider organisational landscape, including the relationship between projects, programmes, and portfolios. You’ll gain an awareness of how external factors, such as legal requirements, regulations, and market pressures, can influence outcomes, and how tools like PESTLE analysis help identify these influences. By the end, you’ll see why project management is essential in today’s fast-changing business world.
Understand Project Life Cycles
Every project follows a journey, and this section introduces the stages of a typical project life cycle, from initiation through definition, development, handover, and closure. You’ll explore why each stage is important, what key activities happen in each, and how life cycles provide a structured framework for control. You’ll also gain an appreciation of different approaches, such as linear (predictive) and iterative (adaptive) life cycles, and understand why some projects benefit from a traditional model while others require more flexibility. This broad awareness equips you to recognise and adapt to different delivery methods across industries.
Understand Roles & Responsibilities
Successful projects rely on people knowing their responsibilities and working effectively together. Here, you’ll learn about the roles of the project manager, sponsor, stakeholders, and team members, and how these roles interact. You’ll gain an understanding of the accountability each role carries, from decision-making at the sponsor level to day-to-day management by the project manager. This section also highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, showing how effective role definition prevents confusion and improves collaboration. By the end, you’ll understand how clearly defined responsibilities form the backbone of successful project delivery.
Understand Project Management Planning
Planning transforms ideas into structured, achievable goals. In this module, you’ll learn about the essential elements of project plans, including objectives, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements. You’ll gain awareness of how baselines are created to track performance and how planning links directly to monitoring and control. This topic also introduces why planning is not just about creating documents, but about setting direction and providing a roadmap for decision-making. With this knowledge, you’ll see how good planning reduces risk, builds stakeholder confidence, and increases the chances of delivering projects successfully.
Project Scope Management
Scope defines the boundaries of a project and ensures everyone understands what will be delivered and what will not. In this section, you’ll learn how requirements are gathered, documented, and agreed, and how scope changes are managed in a controlled way. You’ll gain an appreciation of why poorly defined scope leads to scope creep and missed expectations, and how effective scope management keeps projects focused. By understanding this, you’ll be able to see how projects balance ambition with realistic delivery and why scope management is vital to meeting agreed objectives.
Resource, Scheduling, and Optimising a Project
Time, people, and resources are always limited, making their management one of the most important aspects of project delivery. This module introduces basic scheduling techniques and tools that help project managers organise work effectively. You’ll gain awareness of methods such as resource levelling and critical path analysis, and how these support decision-making. While you won’t learn to calculate complex schedules at this stage, you will understand why scheduling is essential to achieving project goals, how resource constraints can be balanced, and why optimisation is key to delivering more value with fewer resources.
Risk & Issue Management
No project runs exactly as planned, and this topic introduces how risks and issues are identified, assessed, and managed. You’ll explore the difference between risks (future uncertainties) and issues (current problems) and learn how they are logged, monitored, and communicated to stakeholders. This section also provides an awareness of simple risk response strategies, such as avoidance, reduction, transfer, or acceptance. By the end, you’ll understand why proactive risk and issue management reduces the likelihood of failure and builds resilience into projects.
Project Quality
Quality management ensures that outputs meet expectations and are fit for purpose. In this topic, you’ll learn how quality is planned, assured, and controlled, and why it must be considered throughout the entire project lifecycle. You’ll gain an understanding of the benefits of continuous improvement and lessons learned, and how they contribute to future project success. This awareness helps you see how delivering high quality is not only about meeting specifications, but also about building trust and long-term value for organisations.
Communication in a Project
Effective communication is one of the strongest predictors of project success. In this module, you’ll explore why communication plans are needed, how different stakeholders require tailored messages, and why the choice of channel matters. You’ll gain awareness of how structured communication prevents misunderstandings, strengthens relationships, and creates alignment across the project team. By the end, you’ll see how clear and consistent communication is not just a soft skill, but a critical factor in managing expectations and achieving results.
Leadership and Teamwork in Projects
Projects are delivered by people, and understanding how to motivate and lead them is essential. This section introduces you to leadership styles, teamwork models, and the factors that influence motivation. You’ll learn about the characteristics of high-performing teams, how to handle conflict, and why collaboration is essential for success. While the PFQ does not train you to be a leadership expert, it gives you an awareness of the behaviours that create trust, improve performance, and foster a positive project environment. These insights highlight the people skills that make project managers effective beyond the technical aspects of their role.
Career and Progression Prospects
APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) is ideal for those new to project management. Recognised across industries from finance to healthcare to tech, it provides a solid introduction to key project principles and terminology. This certification helps you build confidence, understand project lifecycles, and take your first step toward a successful career in project delivery and change management.
What You Could Earn
We want to help you achieve the best outcome in your studies so you can flourish in your desired path.
Junior Project Manager
per year
Project Manager
per year
Senior Project Manager
per year
Included with your course.
Stay on track with direct access to expert recommendations, general support, and answers to all your questions. Kick-start your course with a 45-minute guidance session within 1-week of enrolment, followed by regular monthly check-in emails. You can also request a live session with your trainer halfway through the course.
Translate your theory into practical experience with exposure to real-life project management by shadowing a virtual project manager.
Connect with a thriving community of certified PRINCE2 Project Managers and current students to exchange essential course tips and industry-specific insights to help you along your journey.
Get personalised interview coaching from qualified professionals who know what employers are looking for to secure your dream job!
Stay motivated throughout your learning journey with a personal study coach who provides all the ad-hoc support you need to succeed in your certification.
Get instant help when you need it! Our live chat team is always ready to assist with prompt, real-time responses—and when not available, you’ll have an interactive 24/7 AI Tutor Bot standing by for immediate answers.
While you can finish the course in less time, we still want you to study at your own pace with 3 months of full access to your course materials; giving you plenty of time to revisit the content whenever you need.
APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (APM PFQ) Frequently Asked Questions
You have questions, and we have all the answers
The APM PFQ certification is a globally recognised project management approach that helps project managers and professionals showcase their knowledge of project management. Offered by the Association for Project Management (APM), this entry-level certification provides a foundation for those who want to pursue higher-level project management certifications.
The APM PFQ certification is for project managers, project coordinators, and other professionals who are looking to demonstrate their knowledge of project management principles, terminology, and processes. It is also suitable for those who are just starting their careers in project management or who are looking to take the first step towards advanced project management certifications, as well as those experienced project professionals looking to validate their existing skills.
The APM PFQ certification is assessed and awarded by means of an examination. This exam comprises of 60 objective, multiple choice questions (meaning you will have to select your answers from the options you are provided with). Your exam will be 60 minutes long, and you will be required to score 60% or higher in order to pass.
The APM PFQ certification does not expire and is thus a fantastic building block for your project management portfolio.
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