PRINCE2? ends in 2024?

Peoplecert is finally clearing up confusion regarding the validity of older versions of PRINCE2?, and from Q3 2024, on only one version will be valid.

What is the current situation regarding PRINCE2? certification?

It is currently possible to achieve PRINCE2 certification in version 5 (launched in 2009), version 6 (launched in 2017) and version 7 (from 2023). All certifications are equal, it is not possible to say that the older versions of the certification have less value than the newer versions. The difference between the certification in version 5 and version 6 was the validity of the certificate (PRINCE2 Foundation unlimited and PRINCE2 Practitioner 5 years). These differences were eliminated on January 1, 2023, when Peoplecert decided to shorten the validity of all certificates to 3 years.

In which languages were the PRINCE2 exams conducted?

Another difference was the language of the final test. The certification exam in version 5 was conducted in Czech, Romanian, Russian, Slovak and Swedish. PRINCE certification in version 6 was realized in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.

Differences in certification exams

A major difference between versions 5 and 6 is the difficulty of the final certification test. According to the Bloom taxonomy, the exam difficulty, the certification test in version 5 has a difficulty of Bloom 1 and Bloom 2, in version 6 it was Bloom 3 and Bloom 4. When implementing the PRINCE2 Practitioner certification, caused a decrease in the success rate of the final exam from approximately 90% to approximately 70% successful certification on the first attempt.

No less important is the fact that in version 5, 70 questions are scored and 50% is enough to pass the exam (that is, 35 correct answers), in version 6, 60 questions were scored and 55% correct answers were needed to successfully obtain the certificate (which is 33 questions).

Arrival of PRINCE2? version 7

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, version 7 is also currently available, which was launched in September 2023. Currently, it exists only in the English language mutation, but from February the certification should be available in Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Polish.

The future of older versions of PRINCE2

According to Peoplecert's official announcement, the older version of PRINCE2 will be retired in 2024. Based on the established schedule, the last day of PRINCE2 training in both version 5 and version 6 will be June 30, 2024, while the certification exam will need to be completed by July 31, 2024.

In the 2nd quarter of 2024, additional language versions of PRINCE2 version 7, namely Czech, Slovak, Danish, Dutch, and Norwegian, should be launched on the market. If the schedule is followed, there should be a smooth transition between version 5 and version 7 in minority languages.

The future of PRINCE2? certificates.

PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certificates realized in versions 5 and 6 will be able to be extended without exams via MyAxelos. The annual fee is approximately 100 pounds, which means that for 3 years, interested parties will pay approximately €350.

According to official information, to take the PRINCE2 v7 Practitioner exam, you will need to have a PRINCE2 version 6 certificate.

Certificates in version 5 will not allow the implementation of the PRINCE2 v7 Practitioner exam and applicants will first need to complete the Foundation training and exam or meet some of the other required conditions.

Current information about PRINCE2 certification can be found at Project Academy website.