Written by the PLP Academy.

It is important to keep developing as professionals, you can attend networking events, training seminars, webinars, enrol in qualifications like the Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) or the Project Management Qualification (PMQ) and apprenticeships. So why wouldn’t you belong to a professional body…

A professional body is “an organisation with members practicing a profession or occupation. These organisations usually have oversight on knowledge, skills, support, conduct and practice of the respective profession/occupation”.

There are so many reasons why you should belong to a professional body, like:

• Meet and learn from other professionals in your network
• Access independent professional mentors
• Access resources and tools to increase your knowledge and understanding of the profession
• Discount prices to important network events and conferences
• Adds credibility to your skills and enhances your reputation
• Shows that you are serious about your career and professional development
• Receive notifications about awards, certifications and qualifications

These are just a handful of benefits you can receive when belonging to a professional body. If you are not sure which is the right professional body for you, we have created a list of professional bodies that you could consider belonging to:

• Association for Project Management (the UK Chartered professional body for Project Managers)
• Project Management Institute (the USA based equivalent of the APM)
• Agile Business Consortium
• Chartered Management Institute
• Chartered Institute of Marketing