5 reasons ITIL® 4 will accelerate your career
A report by the World Economic Forum predicted that one billion jobs will be transformed by technology by 2030. It also warned that we are approaching a global reskilling revolution. As a result, businesses are proactively searching for the future skills they will need to ensure they are one step ahead of these challenges. Many employees are also beginning to transition into a career in tech.
Modern workplaces love acronyms and none more so than the world of technology. So, anyone looking to begin or further their career in IT will be expected to quickly learn the key concepts and terminology used across the tech industry. But the good news is that there is a universal service management framework used by organisations of all sizes around the world to ensure everyone is speaking the same language.
What is ITIL® 4?
ITIL® 4, which stands for IT Infrastructure Library, will play a critical role in whatever career path you choose in IT. The service management framework helps every team member understand the crucial alignment of IT and business strategies across an organisation. It assesses the impact of technology on businesses and how the framework integrates with Agile and DevOps while also supporting the increasing need for digital transformation.
Beginners will start their journey with the ITIL 4 Foundation, which will help people enter the IT world for the first time understand commonly used service management terms and concepts. The technical aspects also help guide how cultural and behavioural principles impact the work that drives the organisation beyond IT.
An employee who understands this standardised approach to IT service management should be able to walk into any business and apply ITIL practises. ITIL certification begins by preparing you to work under the ITIL framework. But as you progress through the program, it will help you contribute to the continuous service improvement that organisations need to thrive.
Here are 5 ways that this globally recognised certification is becoming a prerequisite for employers + how it can accelerate your career or help unite all your tech teams.
Career growth with ITIL 4
Household names from Microsoft, IBM, and CISCO to Disney and NASA are all proud adopters of the ITIL Framework. It’s no secret that knowledge and experience of ITIL® 4 are increasingly being expected as the default qualification in major organisations around the world. But its certification track will ensure that your path of learning will take you on a journey from ITIL Foundation through to Practitioner, Intermediate, Expert, and Master levels.
A CV with ITIL credentials will help employees stand out from the crowd from their uncertified counterparts and help future-proof their careers. For businesses, if an entire team has a minimum of the ITIL 4 Foundation qualification, it will ensure that everyone shares the standard vocabulary for ITSM (IT Service Management) and instinctively knows how to apply best practice principles to processes.
The path you take on your ITIL journey can help take you in any direction in IT. For example, techies often begin as support technicians and eventually specialise in applications, networks, hardware, security, or even systems architecture. Others prefer to take a more managerial route into project management, service delivery, incident, change, or relationship management.
Finally, there are various senior management roles such as chief technical officer (CTO), chief information security officer (CISO), and IT Director, meaning that you can take your career in IT in any direction that works best for your unique skill set and passion. Whichever path you choose, it will be the ITIL® 4 framework that will play a critical role in accelerating your career.
Salary growth with ITIL 4
ITIL® 4 is a globally recognised certification that can take you anywhere in the world. Here in the UK, the salary range for an ITIL Foundation certified professional typically begins around £30,000 and can quickly rise from £30,000 – £65,000 when you reach ITIL expert status. But employees will also need considerable experience and be able prove their ability by putting the framework into effect.
ITIL Foundation-certified professionals typically put themselves in a bracket where they earn more than an average salary. Ultimately, the ITIL certification will open many doors and provide opportunities for ITIL practitioners to gain the experience they need to develop and accelerate their careers. The Roadmap for ITIL Certification will not increase your salary on its own, but it’s how you apply your knowledge and expertise in ITSM that will provide you with endless opportunities.
Stand out in the corporate world
According to the Tech Republic, more than 10,000 organisations worldwide have already adopted ITIL. As a result, ITIL®-certified professionals are becoming increasingly attractive job candidates to businesses looking for individuals in alignment with global IT service management standards.
ITIL certification helps candidates prove to prospective employers that they are educated in IT’s industry best practises. As you progress through the certification levels, you will also unlock the ability to take on different roles and help you quickly progress within a company, saving bosses thousands in recruitment fees. All of which makes the candidate a lucrative investment.
Developing an understanding of the entire IT infrastructure will also enable you to seamlessly wear many hats, which will make you invaluable to any organisation. For example, an ITIL certification allows you to provide value right away for an employer. It could also mean that you will arrive with ideas and strategies learned from your training to make their operations more efficient.
In theory, IT-qualified candidates can walk into any company in the world and immediately understand the infrastructure and hit the ground running by making a valuable contribution on day one. For these reasons alone, ITIL will make you stand out from the crowd in the corporate world.
Broaden Your Career Options
ITIL® 4 is a worldwide recognised qualification that is often a prerequisite for services management experts. Rather than being limited to your immediate geographical location, ITIL enables employees to boost their careers at an international level. Although many are attracted by the increased salary that ITIL certification can bring, its access to the broader employment landscape and limitless opportunities to progress that help employees broaden their career options.
375 million workers who represent roughly 14 percent of the global workforce could be looking to fill the tech skills gaps as the digitisation automation of everything gathers pace. As advances in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence continue to disrupt the world of work, the McKinsey Global Institute report warned that retraining and upskilling existing workers had become an urgent business priority.
ITIL® 4 certification provides an opportunity for growth and transformation of everyone from individuals looking to transition into a career in tech to businesses looking to ensure all their teams share the same understanding. A path of continuous learning will help enhance knowledge and skills while playing a critical role in keeping employees engaged and businesses in the green.
Future proof your career with ITIL training
One of the most attractive aspects of ITIL 4 is that it is a business enabler that tackles the world of continuous change in technology. Organisations that remain rigid and static or cling to the business models of the past are getting taken out by young, agile start-ups. Therefore, leaders and their teams must have a capacity for change to adapt and evolve with the digital landscape by being a part of a new proactive culture in IT.
Soon, current trends around IoT, AI, automation, and blockchain will quickly become out of date, and businesses must adapt quickly once again as things change. ITIL best practises provide the much-needed adaptability that enables teams to take full advantage of new opportunities. In addition, ITIL qualified employees are empowered to build future-proof systems that evolve with changing circumstances and anything waiting on the horizon.
ITIL-certified candidates who embrace a path of continuous learning also increase their future job prospects in the IT industry. With a massive demand for ITIL-certified professionals in incident management, change management, and service management, it has never been easier to pivot your career and explore the different ages in the ITIL Lifecycle model.
Level up your career with the ITIL 4 Framework
If you are preparing to enter a career in IT or an existing IT professional, ITIL 4 will play a critical role in jump-starting your career in IT service management. In addition, in a digital world where collaboration is paramount, ITIL 4 connects individuals to large communities and helps them explore new methodologies and ways of working with the mutual goal of driving business value.
ITIL 4 offers anyone with a passion for technology to level up their skills via a clear structured path to accelerate their career in IT. By learning new skills and gaining expertise, ITIL professionals are invaluable to the modern workplace and are leading the way rather than getting left behind.
Ultimately, by learning the standard language in IT with a globally recognised qualification, you can boost your career and ensure that you will be a crucial contributor to the growth of any organisation. With the added benefits of future-proofing your career, increasing your salary, and opening the possibility of working internationally, it’s easy to see how ITIL can transform your career.
If you are interested in obtaining a basic understanding of the ITIL® framework or if you’re currently an IT professional working within an organisation that has adopted ITIL®, we have the options that will enable you to learn the global language used within ITSM.
Contact our team, who will show you how ITIL® 4 can accelerate your career
Topics: