Weekly online
Each four-month module includes 14 interactive two-hour classes and one reading week, following an optional full-day London masterclass. Read selected material, practise between sessions and bring your questions back to the group.
Professional learning · Project Controls & Management
APM Project Risk Management · Level 1 Preparation.
Make uncertainty part of the decision before it becomes an issue.
Effective risk management helps a team decide where to act, what to investigate and which uncertainty it can reasonably accept. This course develops that discipline through APM’s Risk Certificate syllabus and Project Risk Analysis and Management guidance. You explore project context, threats and opportunities, identification, qualitative assessment, quantitative concepts, response planning and continuing ownership. Practical cases connect the formal process with the conversations and behaviours that make it work. Current qualification preparation is for the APM Risk Level 1 certificate; advanced case application can deepen professional capability without implying that the discontinued Level 2 examination remains available.
Weekly route4 months
Live online2 hours a week
Module startsOctober · February · June
Learning structure1 module
The professional challenge
Make the next decision with more confidence.
A risk register is reviewed regularly, yet the same threats become urgent issues. The problem may be vague descriptions, weak ownership or responses that never reach the delivery plan. The course helps you challenge the process and make each priority risk lead to a clear, owned decision.
Who will benefit
For project managers, planners, project controllers, PMO professionals and team members who contribute to risk workshops, registers, analysis or reporting. It is useful for practitioners with a foundation in project management who want greater confidence in recognising uncertainty and discussing proportionate responses.
What you take back to work
Practical capability, built through learning.
- Describe threats and opportunities in relation to project objectives and the conditions that may affect them.
- Select suitable identification and assessment techniques while recognising the influence of bias and risk attitude.
- Explain response options, ownership, contingency and the need for continuing review.
- Prepare for the current APM Risk Level 1 syllabus and apply the process to a practical project case.
Inside the course
A connected learning journey.
A 14-session module can cover context, identification, qualitative and quantitative concepts, responses, behaviour and reporting, followed by integrated case work and revision. The proposed sequence groups official syllabus topics into practical teaching blocks. Any advanced application builds professional capability and should be distinguished from the current Level 1 examination requirements.
01Purpose, context and the PRAM process
Establish the project objectives and boundaries that give a risk assessment meaning. Distinguish uncertainty, an individual risk event and overall project exposure, and consider both downside threats and potential opportunities. Explore how the PRAM process connects initiation, identification, assessment, responses and continuing management. Use a case to decide the depth of analysis appropriate to the situation.
Apply it at work: Define the context and objectives for a focused project-risk review.
02Identification and useful risk descriptions
Compare interviews, workshops, assumptions analysis, checklists and other identification methods. Consider what each method can reveal and what it may miss. Practise separating a cause, uncertain event and consequence so the risk can be assessed and assigned meaningfully. Examine how stakeholder involvement and information quality influence the coverage and credibility of the resulting register.
Apply it at work: Prepare an identification workshop plan and rewrite vague risk statements into usable descriptions.
03Qualitative assessment and prioritisation
Explore probability, impact and proximity as aids to prioritisation, while keeping the underlying judgement visible. Consider how definitions and scales affect comparisons and how a matrix can support a conversation without removing uncertainty. Use a practical case to decide which risks need an immediate response, further investigation or monitoring, and explain the reasoning to a project stakeholder.
Apply it at work: Assess a set of project risks and present a justified priority list.
04Quantitative concepts and decision support
Introduce the purpose of three-point estimates, probability distributions, expected value, sensitivity analysis, decision trees and Monte Carlo analysis. Consider when additional modelling could inform a cost or schedule decision and when the evidence is too weak to justify precision. Keep assumptions and interpretation central, including the relationship between individual uncertainties and a combined view of exposure.
Apply it at work: Interpret a simple risk-analysis output and explain its implications and limitations for a decision.
05Responses, ownership and continuing control
Choose responses that fit the significance of the risk and the project’s ability to act. Consider avoidance, reduction, sharing, acceptance and opportunity responses, alongside contingency and residual exposure. Distinguish the responsibilities of the risk owner and action owner. Examine how agreed actions enter the plan and how reviews test whether the response has changed the risk.
Apply it at work: Develop a response plan with owners, actions, review dates and evidence of completion.
06Behaviour, reporting and readiness
Examine how optimism, anchoring, group dynamics and organisational culture can shape risk judgements. Practise facilitating constructive challenge and communicating the important uncertainties to decision-makers. Bring the case together in a concise risk report, then review terminology and concepts against the current Level 1 syllabus. Advanced exercises can explore application while keeping the examination route clear.
Apply it at work: Present a risk-review briefing and complete a targeted Level 1 practice and learning review.
Learn around your working life
Time to understand. Space to apply.
Online or in a city near you
Face-to-face delivery can be arranged in London, Maidstone, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. Your course offer confirms the venue and teaching dates.
A London masterclass to start your module
Meet your tutors and fellow professionals at an optional full-day London event. KBC covers the event, agreed transportation, refreshments and an open buffet dinner. Confirm arrangements with the team before booking travel.
Support between sessions
Return to class recordings and learning resources, bring questions to your tutor and use free one-to-one tutoring and coaching support. Your course plan sets out the guided reading and practice needed alongside live teaching.
Your route to recognition
Know what the assessment involves.
APM’s current Level 1 certificate is assessed through 60 multiple-choice questions in one hour. Preparation should follow the current Level 1 syllabus and its prescribed PRAM Guide 2nd edition reference. KBC case exercises provide practice and feedback alongside examination preparation. The former Level 2 qualification was decommissioned, with a final assessment deadline of 30 June 2026; it should not be offered to new learners as an available external examination. Advanced risk application should instead be clearly identified as professional development.
Your written offer records the award or course completion requirements, any examination fees included, and the relevant eligibility checks.
The professional knowledge behind the course
Explore the books and standards.
The learning themes above bring together the relevant guide, syllabus and workplace practice. KBC’s teaching sequence connects these ideas through discussion and application.
- APM Project Risk Management Certificate Level 1 syllabus ↗Association for Project Management · Version 3; current download verified 10 September 2026
Current qualification topic coverage, including process, organisation, behaviour and techniques.
- Project Risk Analysis and Management Guide ↗Association for Project Management · Second Edition; prescribed exam reference
Exam-aligned PRAM principles, process, organisation and techniques.
- Project Risk Analysis and Management Mini Guide ↗Association for Project Management · January 2018
Public introduction to PRAM, purpose, timing, responsibilities and qualitative/quantitative techniques.
- Project Risk Analysis and Management Guide ↗Association for Project Management · Third Edition, January 2025
Current supplementary professional practice; updated quantitative analysis, human factors and sector perspectives. Publisher explicitly retains 2nd edition for Risk Certificate exam preparation.
- APM Risk Certificate ↗Association for Project Management · Verified 10 September 2026
Current page offers Level 1 only:60 questions,60 minutes.
Your investment
Get a course offer that fits your route.
Request the standalone fee for your chosen format, including the teaching, reading materials, assessment and membership arrangements relevant to this course.
Exploring the full PCP apprenticeship?
£27,000 apprenticeship funding + £7,000 additional IPC support. The IPC package covers professional examinations, memberships, graduation, Benenden Health membership, London masterclasses and agreed transport.
These figures relate to the complete Project Controls Professional apprenticeship. Standalone course fees are separate. The team confirms eligibility, any employer contribution and the contents of your written offer.
Explore the PCP pathway →Your questions, answered.
Can I still take the APM Risk Level 2 exam?
It should not be presented as a current new-learner route. APM’s decommissioning notice set 30 June 2026 as the final assessment deadline, and its current qualification page describes Level 1 only.
Which edition of the PRAM Guide should I use?
Use the 2nd edition for Risk Certificate exam preparation because APM still prescribes it. The 3rd edition, published in 2025, is useful supplementary professional reading; it should not silently replace the exam reference.
Will the course make me a quantitative risk analyst?
It develops understanding of quantitative techniques and interpretation alongside the wider risk process. Specialist modelling proficiency depends on additional practice, suitable data and the complexity of the work you undertake.
What would this help you achieve?
Talk to KBC about your experience, your goals and the right learning route for you.