CERTIFICATION BODY THE APM GROUP WINS QUEENS AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE INTERNATIONAL TRADE

HIGH WYCOMBE, England, April 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The APM Group is delighted to announce it has won a Queens Award for Enterprise in the International Trade Category. The Award recognises outstanding continuous performance over the last six years.  This announcement is made following APMG's appearance in PWC's Profit Track published in The Sunday Times on Sunday 15th April 2012.

Richard Pharro, CEO, APMG, said, "Winning the Queen's Award is a great achievement for everyone at APMG-International and also for our Accredited Training Organisations who work around the world delivering high quality training. Our ethos is to work hard and play fair. To this end we have striven to develop rigorous qualifications that challenge candidates so they can be proud of their achievement. We work with product owners such as The Cabinet Office, CESG, DSDM and the Service Desk Institute to deliver high quality examinations and accreditation schemes that are recognized and trusted throughout the world.  We are delighted to be one of a truly select group of organisations to be recognised in this way."

APMG, which achieved Gold Investors in People status in 2012, can now use the Queens Award Emblem until 20 April 2017. Richard will be invited to attend a special reception at Buckingham Palace hosted Her Majesty The Queen during her Diamond Jubilee year.

Founded in 1993, APMG is a UKAS accredited certification body, which accredits professional training organisations and manages certification schemes for knowledge-based workers. Now the world's largest provider of accreditation in project and service management including PRINCE2®, ASL® BiSL® and ITIL®, APMG works in partnership with over 250 training companies worldwide. Overseas sales have increased steadily in the last six years, contributing to overseas earnings growth of an impressive 1940%. This growth has been fuelled by APMG's commitment to adding value to its accredited training companies by expanding its product range, translating examinations and opening up new markets. APMG's highly successful distribution model is supported by a bespoke IT system, which underpins its business processes. Each new market is established as a local operation supporting a network of local accredited training providers. APMG has language capability in 21 languages and representatives in 12 countries.

As part of the application process, APMG was required to submit a declaration of Corporate Responsibility. Its submission included reference to its Pro Bono work with LINGOs (Learning In Non-Governmental Organisations) on the development of a qualification scheme for project managers working in disaster and humanitarian crisis zones.  When dealing with emergencies, large scale disasters and humanitarian crises, it is imperative that those deployed to help have the ability to work together and make good decisions quickly. APMG's PMD Pro Qualification is designed specifically for these very special project managers.

"We are delighted that nearly 2000 Level 1 examinations have now taken place and organisations like the United Nations, Islamic Relief and Oxfam are recognising the value of the initiative by sending their staff on PMD Pro courses," Richard said.  Level 2 of the qualification scheme is launching in April 2012. The higher level qualification features an exam plus the candidate must verify they hold a PRINCE2 or other recognised industry certificate.

PRINCE2® is a registered trade mark of the Cabinet Office.
ITIL® is a registered trade mark of the Cabinet Office.
ASL® is a Registered Trade Mark of ASL BiSL Foundation.
BiSL® is a Registered Trade Mark of ASL BiSL Foundation.