Integrated control
Integrated planning, cost, risk and performance control. Operational project leadership and decision support.
2026/27 Learner and Employer Pathway
Operational Pathway
Project Controls Professional Level 6
An operational route built around control, assurance and action. Develop professionals who do more than report project status. They establish credible controls, challenge data, model outcomes and provide evidence-based recommendations that influence delivery.
6
Credits Level 6 selected operational route
835
Published minimum training hours
£27k
Maximum apprenticeship funding band
What the pathway is designed to build
- Integrated planning, cost, risk and performance control.
- Operational project leadership and decision support.
- Data assurance, forecasting and recovery recommendations.
- Credible workplace evidence mapped to the apprenticeship.
- Preparation for selected external professional examinations.
The operational route
An operational route built around control, assurance and action
The Operational Pathway develops professionals who do more than report project status. They establish credible controls, challenge data, model outcomes and provide evidence-based recommendations that influence delivery.
Data assurance
Data assurance, forecasting and recovery recommendations. Credible workplace evidence mapped to the apprenticeship.
Professional preparation
Preparation for selected external professional examinations including PMP, APM Risk, EVM, and PMI-SP.
Important distinction: The apprenticeship, KBC pathway modules and external certifications are separate outcomes. The apprenticeship is awarded after successful end-point assessment. PMI, APM and APMG qualifications are awarded only by the relevant professional body after its own eligibility, registration and examination requirements are met.
Select six credits
Select six credits to create one coherent pathway
The supplied operational route contains eight available credits. KBC's recommended structure uses three foundation credits, two integrated planning and control credits, then one specialist elective.
Recommended six-credit structure
- Project Management Professional preparationProject leadership, value, people, process and business environment.
- AI in Project Management / ControlsResponsible AI workflows, dashboards, automation and governed decisions.
- Project Planning and ControlIntegrated planning, monitoring, schedule, cost, progress and change control.
- Choose one specialist electiveAPM Risk Management, Earned Value Management or PMI Scheduling Professional.
Course structure overview
- PMP preparationPMI, 2 credits, 8 months
- AI in Project ControlsKBC / IPC, 1 credit, 4 months
- Project Planning and ControlAPMG, 2 credits, 8 months
- APM Risk ManagementAPM, 1 credit, 4 months
- Earned Value ManagementAPMG, 1 credit, 4 months
- PMI Scheduling ProfessionalPMI, 1 credit, 4 months
Catalogue control note: The supplied operational pathway visual assigns two credits to Project Planning and Control. A separate supplied table shows one credit. This catalogue follows the six-credit pathway visual; the final controlled offer and signed training plan must confirm the agreed credit allocation before enrolment.
Six pathway credits
Six credits that build operational capability
Each credit provides a structured context for applying the full Project Controls Professional occupational standard.
How the six-credit pathway flows
Complete the five core credits, then select one specialist elective to complete the recommended six-credit structure.
6Total credits
Core stage 01
PMP preparation
Project leadership, value, people, process and business environment.
2Credits
Core stage 02
AI in Project Controls
Responsible AI workflows, dashboards, automation and governed decisions.
1Credit
Core stage 03
Project Planning and Control
Integrated planning, monitoring, schedule, cost, progress and change control.
2Credits
Specialist choice
Choose one specialist elective
APM Risk Management, Earned Value Management or PMI Scheduling Professional.
1Credit
PMP preparation
Develop project leadership across people, process and the business environment, aligned to the revised PMP examination in force from July 2026.
View more about PMP preparation
Indicative workplace outputs: Project management plan, stakeholder and communications strategy, integrated delivery dashboard, recovery or benefits realisation recommendation.
AI in Project Controls
Build responsible AI workflows, dashboards and governed agents that operate on structured project controls data while retaining human approval and accountability.
View more about AI in Project Controls
Indicative workplace outputs: Prompt library and evaluation log, controlled project data model, automated reporting workflow, AI dashboard or agent prototype.
Project Planning and Control
Develop the integrated techniques needed to establish plans, monitor delivery and keep scope, time, cost, resources, progress and change under control.
View more about Project Planning and Control
Indicative workplace outputs: Basis of schedule, integrated control schedule, progress measurement framework, controls dashboard and variance report.
APM Risk Management
Strengthen the ability to establish a risk process, facilitate reviews, challenge assumptions and connect uncertainty to cost, schedule and decision-making.
View more about APM Risk Management
Indicative workplace outputs: Risk management plan, risk and opportunity register, quantitative risk analysis summary, mitigation effectiveness review.
Earned Value Management
Use integrated scope, schedule and cost data to measure performance, explain variance, forecast outcomes and support timely corrective action.
View more about Earned Value Management
Indicative workplace outputs: EVM implementation plan, performance measurement baseline, monthly EVM report, estimate-at-completion analysis.
PMI Scheduling Professional
Develop advanced scheduling capability and prepare eligible candidates for the PMI-SP examination and application process.
View more about PMI Scheduling Professional
Indicative workplace outputs: Schedule management plan, logic and quality assurance review, critical path and sensitivity analysis.
Assessment and award boundary: KBC learning and pathway assessment support the apprenticeship and exam preparation. Any external professional qualification is subject to the owner's current syllabus, eligibility, registration, examination and award decisions.
Who it is for
For experienced professionals with access to complex work
Typical roles
- Project controls professionals
- Planning engineers
- Cost engineers
- Risk managers
- PMO analysts
- Project managers with controls responsibilities
A suitable role normally provides
- Responsibility for controls information, methods or recommendations.
- Access to schedules, cost, risk, progress, change or reporting data.
- Opportunities to influence project, programme or portfolio stakeholders.
- A line manager who can support application and authenticate evidence.
- Sufficient new learning after recognition of prior experience.
Initial assessment tests suitability
- Learner and residency eligibility.
- Employment and working location.
- Role alignment to ST0845 duties.
- Prior learning, qualifications and experience.
- English, maths and learning support.
- Ability to complete within available employment time.
Certification eligibility is separate
Experienced apprentices may still need to satisfy professional-body experience, education, application, audit and exam requirements. KBC preparation does not override those rules.
Capability themes
Capability themes developed across the route
Integrated baseline
Align scope, breakdown structures, schedule, cost, risk and assumptions into a credible basis for control.
Planning and scheduling
Create achievable schedules, test constraints, evaluate dependencies and explain schedule confidence.
Cost engineering
Set budgets, monitor commitments and expenditure, integrate cost and schedule and forecast out-turn.
Risk and opportunity
Lead reviews, challenge assumptions, quantify uncertainty and recommend proportionate responses.
Progress and performance
Establish rules of credit, analyse variances and trends, apply earned value and recommend corrective action.
Data assurance
Validate source data, challenge assumptions, control records and protect integrity, security and traceability.
Change and recovery
Assess impacts, distinguish scope change, maintain approved baselines and build evidence-led recovery plans.
Commercial awareness
Interpret contracts, tenders, supplier deliverables and the relationship between cost, revenue and profitability.
Leadership and ethics
Influence decisions, mentor others, act impartially and remain accountable for reports and recommendations.
Evidence expectation: Learners should be able to demonstrate how they selected a method, assured the data, interpreted the result, communicated the recommendation and evaluated the organisational impact.
Professional artefacts
Build professional artefacts that improve delivery
Controls strategy
Project controls plan, governance map, reporting calendar and assurance model.
Integrated baseline
Scope and coding structure, schedule, budget, risk and assumptions.
Schedule assurance
Logic checks, critical path analysis, constraints, resources and confidence.
Cost and EVM
Budget baseline, commitments, actuals, earned value, forecast and narrative.
Risk and change
Risk analysis, contingency, change impact and control recommendations.
AI and automation
Governed workflow, dashboard, data model, approval matrix and audit trail.
Decision support
Executive report, option analysis, recovery plan and recommendation.
Leadership evidence
Coaching, challenge, stakeholder engagement and team development.
Improvement
Lessons learned, benchmarking, process refinement and technology adoption.
Confidentiality: Evidence may be redacted, anonymised or supported by witness testimony where commercial, security or personal information cannot be shared with assessors in its original form.
Eligibility criteria
Could this apprenticeship
pathway be right for you?
Kent Business College completes a role, suitability, prior-learning and funding review before enrolment. Use this guide and quick check as an initial indication only.
UK resident for the past 3 years
You must have lived in the UK for the past 3 years.
Must not require sponsorship to work
You must hold a British Passport, Indefinite Leave to Remain, or Tier 2 visa with at least three years of UK residency.
Not enrolled in other government-funded training
You must not be enrolled in other government-funded training at the time of this programme.
Self-employed individuals are not eligible
Self-employed individuals are not eligible for DfE funding.
Paid employment in England
You must be in paid employment in England (normally 30+ hrs/week; minimum 16).
Employer based in England
Your employer must be based in England and registered with the Apprenticeship Service.
Spend at least 50% of working hours in England
You must spend at least 50% of your working hours within England.
Employer responsibilities
The workplace creates the conditions for competence
Employer commitments
- Provide a productive role with a direct link to ST0845.
- Release the apprentice for agreed paid training.
- Provide access to projects, data, systems and stakeholders.
- Support safe, ethical and appropriately supervised application.
- Attend progress reviews and help remove barriers.
- Authenticate the learner's contribution to workplace evidence.
- Support gateway and EPA readiness decisions.
Operational sponsor
The strongest pathway experience is supported by a line manager or project controls sponsor who can provide access, challenge, feedback and organisational context without completing the apprentice's work.
Data and system permissions
Employer approval is required before using live project data in AI tools, automation platforms, external applications or learner evidence. Restricted information must not be uploaded to unapproved systems.
More credible forecasts
Assured data, explicit assumptions and integrated analysis.
Earlier intervention
Trend, risk and schedule signals converted into timely action.
Consistent controls
Repeatable methods, templates and governance across teams.
Internal capability
Professionals who can lead, coach and improve the controls function.
Funding scenarios for 2026/27 starts
How the apprenticeship may be funded
The actual funding position depends on the employer, available funds, apprentice age and the agreed training price.
Levy account funds
Eligible training and assessment costs are paid from available employer account funds, up to the negotiated price and funding-band maximum.
Levy shortfall
For levy-paying employers with insufficient account funds, government contributes 75%; the employer is responsible for the remaining 25% up to the band maximum.
Eligible non-levy starts aged 16–24
For non-levy employers and apprentices aged 16-24 at the start, government funds eligible costs up to the band maximum when all conditions are met.
Eligible non-levy starts aged 25+
For non-levy employers and apprentices aged 25+ government contributes 95%; the employer normally contributes 5% up to the band maximum.
Maximum funding band
The final price must reflect prior learning and be agreed with the employer.
- The apprentice must not be charged eligible apprenticeship training or assessment costs.
- Employers are responsible for costs above the £27,000 funding-band maximum.
- Memberships, professional exams or resits are included only when expressly confirmed and eligible.
No funding guarantee from a catalogue: Funding is confirmed only after learner eligibility, employer account arrangements, negotiated price, prior learning and the applicable funding rules are checked. The apprentice must not be charged eligible apprenticeship training or assessment costs.
Gateway and EPA
Independent assessment of occupational competence
The operational route prepares the learner for the apprenticeship, but the end-point assessment remains an independent test of the full ST0845 occupation.
Technical work-based assignment
Independent assessment through a work-based technical assignment, written report, presentation and questioning. The learner must demonstrate analysis, judgement, application and communication across mapped KSBs.
Professional discussion
A structured discussion with an independent assessor, underpinned by the apprentice's portfolio. The discussion tests breadth, depth, professional behaviours and the apprentice's ability to explain authentic evidence.
Gateway readiness
- Completed all mandatory training and KSBs
- Gateway evidence portfolio assembled and reviewed
- English and maths requirements met
- Employer and provider sign-off
Professional exams are not EPA: Passing PMP, PMI-SP, APM or APMG examinations does not replace apprenticeship gateway or end-point assessment. Likewise, achieving the apprenticeship does not automatically confer those external certifications.
Information reviewed: 25 July 2026. Confirm the applicable standard version, funding year and professional-certification position before enrolment.
