AI continues to change the workplace, automating tasks, transforming established ways of working, and forcing a rethink of the skills employers need. As technology takes on more tasks and new tools emerge, technical skills are becoming outdated more quickly, with roughly half potentially obsolete within five years. For project professionals, the urgency to diversify their skill sets beyond technical knowledge has never been greater. 

It is against this backdrop that Project Management Institute (PMI) introduced a refreshed Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam in July 2026, continuing the certification’s evolution alongside the profession and the changing demands placed on project professionals.

“We regularly refresh the exam to ensure it continues to reflect how project professionals work, the challenges they face, and the capabilities organisations expect from them. The 2026 refresh is part of that ongoing evolution,” says George Asamani, Managing Director, PMI Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new PMP exam places greater emphasis on business alignment, strategic decision-making, stakeholder engagement, leadership, sustainability and real-world delivery in AI-enabled environments. It validates whether a professional has the capabilities organisations increasingly prize: structuring work, clarifying ownership, orchestrating stakeholders, measuring impact, and maintaining momentum when conditions shift.

Organisations increasingly need project professionals who can contribute beyond managing scope, schedules and budgets. PMI® research into project success points to a broader expectation - project managers should understand business priorities, take accountability for outcomes and take greater ownership of whether projects deliver value. The research argues that organisations should see them less as administrators and more as business partners.

The new exam is designed around that changing expectation. Rather than simply testing knowledge of project management principles, candidates are expected to demonstrate how they would apply them in real situations - making decisions, managing competing priorities, engaging stakeholders and keeping projects focused on value.

“PMI research shows that 35% of CEOs identify a disconnect between planning and execution as their top barrier to reinvention, closely followed by the failure to continuously upgrade talent for the future at 34%,” adds Asamani. “Organisations need project professionals who can close that gap, people who understand what the business is trying to achieve and have the skills to turn those priorities into successful projects.”

These changing expectations come at a time when demand for project professionals is also rising. Organisations globally will require up to 30 million additional project professionals by 2035, as businesses and governments undertake increasingly complex transformation, infrastructure, technology and organisational change programmes. For Africa, where projects will play a central role across sectors that drive economic growth, building a workforce with strong project delivery capabilities is particularly important.

“By 2050, Africa is expected to account for 85% of the growth in the world’s working-age population. Our opportunity is not to compete with AI, but to ensure that this growing workforce has the skills to harness it. The PMP certification is designed to validate those capabilities, helping project professionals remain globally competitive and equipping them to deliver the projects that will shape the continent’s future,” adds Asamani.

Francis Olanrewaju Boluwaji, Founder & Managing Director, Hope For Hopeless People Foundation, who recently earned his PMP, says, “The refreshed exam was very practical. It tested how you would respond as a project manager. You couldn’t rely on rote answers; you had to think through the situation and decide what to do. What stood out was how closely the scenarios reflected real-world project challenges, particularly around stakeholder engagement, leadership, value delivery, decision-making and adapting to change.”

The evolution of the exam also comes at a time of growing demand for the PMP. In the first five months of 2026, PMP certifications granted increased by 36% year over year.

“As technology continues to change how projects are planned and delivered, the PMP reflects a broader reality for the profession - tools will continue to evolve, but sound judgment, leadership, adaptability, and the ability to deliver outcomes will remain critical,” concludes Asamani. 

The refresh does not affect existing PMP certification holders. Their certifications remains valid and globally recognised as long as they maintain active certification status. 

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About Project Management Institute: PMI is the leading authority in project success. Since 1969, PMI has shone a light on the people and advanced practices behind successful projects. Supported by a global community of millions of project professionals and by thousands of corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions, PMI provides the knowledge, resources, and certifications to lead projects and transformations effectively and responsibly. Join PMI in elevating our world – one project at a time. Connect with us at www.pmi.org, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.  

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