ITTA offers Preparation to the IPMA Level D certification, an international project management reference. The course covers the IPMA Individual Competence Baseline (ICB4), contextual, behavioural and technical project manager competences, and IPMA Level D exam preparation. It targets project assistants, junior project managers, experienced project managers without formal certification, and technical profiles entrusted with project leadership. Delivered in Geneva, Lausanne and interactive virtual classroom by active certified trainers in French-speaking Switzerland.
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Prepare for the IPMA Level D certification and develop your project management skills with a recognized hybrid approach.
Certifying
For a project manager choosing a certification, the current landscape offers several international and national frameworks that partly overlap. PMI offers the PMP (Project Management Professional), a US process-oriented framework widely recognised in multinationals. PRINCE2 offers a British methodology structured in processes and themes, very used in Anglo-Saxon public sector and ITIL environments. HERMES is the official method of the Swiss Confederation, mandatory in federal administrations. IPMA, as complement or alternative, offers a competence framework (Individual Competence Baseline) structured in four levels (D, C, B, A) and particularly valued in continental Europe.
IPMA Switzerland (formerly VZPM, Verein zur Zertifizierung von Personen im Management) is the Swiss certification body attached to IPMA. IPMA certifications are recognised internationally and structure a career progression from beginner (Level D) to programme director (Level A). In French-speaking Switzerland, IPMA appears regularly in project manager job offers, particularly in industrial, pharmaceutical, IT environments, and in some public structures.
Understanding the four-level IPMA structure helps choose the right entry point and project a progression.
IPMA Level D – Certified Project Management Associate: entry level, validating theoretical knowledge of the ICB4 framework. No prior experience required. Written exam. This is the level our course covers.
IPMA Level C – Certified Project Manager: intermediate level, validating the capacity to lead projects of limited complexity. Requires practical project leadership experience and a candidate file in addition to the exam.
IPMA Level B – Certified Senior Project Manager: senior level, validating the capacity to lead complex projects. Requires several years of experience leading complex projects and a detailed file.
IPMA Level A – Certified Projects Director: programme director level, validating the capacity to lead project portfolios. Requires significant programme or portfolio leadership experience, and a high-level file.
Our IPMA training in the ITTA catalogue:
The course is designed as complete preparation for the IPMA Level D exam, but also as competence upskilling on the ICB4 framework as a whole. The trainer sweeps the entire framework structured in three competence families:
Perspective: strategy, governance, structures and processes, compliance and standards, power and interests, culture and values.
People: self-reflection, personal integrity, communication, relations and engagement, leadership, teamwork, conflicts and crises, resourcefulness, negotiation, results orientation.
Practice: project design, requirements and objectives, scope, time, organisation, quality, finance, resources, procurement, planning and control, risks, stakeholders, change and transformation.
The IPMA Level D exam covers all these competences with a mix of multiple-choice and short open questions. The course addresses exam strategy and provides typical questions for practice.
Our IPMA Level D audience is diverse: project assistants formalising their progression to project manager, junior project managers with some months or years of practice validating their theoretical framework, experienced project managers without formal certification making their profile visible on the Swiss market, technical profiles (developers, engineers, architects) gradually entrusted with leadership and seeking vocabulary and tools, consultants and freelancers extending their toolkit to respond to IPMA-required RFPs, and profiles transitioning into project management.
IPMA Level D fits into a complete project management training ecosystem. The project management sub-domain regroups all our project leadership training, including IPMA, PMP, PRINCE2, HERMES and agile methods. For profiles comparing IPMA to PMI, PMI – Project Management Institute offers our PMP and CAPM training. For British methodology profiles, PRINCE2 covers Foundation and Practitioner certifications. For Swiss profiles working in federal administration, HERMES covers the official Confederation method.
For profiles extending into agile methods (Scrum, SAFe, Lean), we also offer dedicated training complementing the IPMA approach and allowing methodological versatility valued by employers.
ITTA offers a training catalogue, meaning our IPMA courses follow programmes validated by IPMA Switzerland and our trainers are IPMA-certified professionals active on projects in French-speaking Switzerland. Concretely, you benefit from consistent materials, fidelity to the official ICB4 framework, and interlocutors who lead projects daily and bring concrete examples. The IPMA Level D exam itself is organised by IPMA Switzerland according to your personal schedule, after the course. Open-enrolment sessions run in Geneva and Lausanne, and in interactive virtual classroom with a live trainer. For organisations training several collaborators as a cohort (PMO, project teams, engineering teams), we offer in-house sessions calibrated on your internal method and project types.
Several trends shape project management in 2026. Agile has stopped being a fashion to become a standard integrated into traditional frameworks (IPMA, PMI, PRINCE2 Agile). Agile/waterfall hybrid is now the norm in most industrial and service projects. ESG and sustainability governance enter expected project manager competences (carbon, CSR, compliance). Generative AI enters project leadership via Microsoft Copilot and dedicated tools automating part of reporting, document drafting and risk consolidation. The shortage of certified project manager profiles in French-speaking Switzerland reinforces the value of IPMA, PMP and PRINCE2 certifications on the job market.
IPMA Level D or PMP: which to choose?
Both certifications are recognised internationally. IPMA Level D is more accessible (no prior experience required) and valued in continental Europe, particularly Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Netherlands. PMP requires prior experience and is more recognised in US and international multinationals. Many experienced project managers hold both. The course addresses these differences to help you choose.
Do I need experience before IPMA Level D?
No, IPMA Level D is designed as an entry level and does not require prior project leadership experience. It is the right entry for project assistants, technical profiles shifting to management, and career-shifting profiles.
Is the IPMA Level D exam available in English?
Yes, the IPMA Level D exam is available in French, German, Italian and English in Switzerland. Our course is delivered in French.
Is certification maintenance required?
The IPMA Level D certification is valid for five years. For renewal, IPMA Switzerland offers a recertification process based on continuing education. Many profiles choose to move up a level (Level C, B) at renewal, validating their professional progression.
What progression after IPMA Level D?
The natural progression is IPMA Level C, requiring several years of practical project leadership experience and a detailed candidate file. Many profiles also add an agile certification (Scrum, SAFe) or methodological (PRINCE2, HERMES) to broaden their toolkit.
Monday to Friday
8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Tel. 058 307 73 00
ITTA
Route des jeunes 35
1227 Carouge, Suisse
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 am to 06:00 pm.
