After many months (years, for some of us) of waiting, the ITIL v3 Expert qualification has finally been launched. Earlier this month, the AMP-Group announced that the owner of a service management consultancy firm, based in the Thames Valley, had been awarded this long-promised qualification.

ITIL (or the IT Infrastructure Library) refers to a series of internationally-recognised qualifications aimed at IT professionals, who are responsible for providing and managing either internal or external IT services. The ITIL best practice guidance is continuous updated, and is currently in its third publication.

Professional qualifications awarded for ITIL v3 Foundation and Intermediate levels have been available since 2007, but up until now, the capstone of these qualifications – ITIL v3 Expert – has been almost entirely theoretical. The achievement of this new ITIL certificate means that the lucky candidate is now the most qualified IT service management professional in the UK – not a bad position to be in given today’s job market.

The ITIL v3 qualification track is remarkable first of all for its flexibility. Following a compulsory ITIL Foundation qualification, students have the freedom to focus on the areas of IT service management most relevant to their own career path. At ITIL v3 intermediate level alone there are 11 certificates. These are divided into two bands: Service Lifecycle and Service Capability.

ITIL Service Lifecycle modules introduce students to the concept of IT service management as an iterative cycle, structured around four phases (strategy, design, transition and operation), and predicated on the principle of continual service improvement.

In contrast to this phase-based approach, Service Capability modules focus on the skills and functions necessary to deliver high-quality IT services. These ITIL courses include:

  • Planning, protection and optimization
  • Service offerings and agreements
  • Release, control and validation
  • Operational support and analysis

The ITIL v3 Expert qualification is built upon a combination of these courses, together with an additional synoptic module, intended to consolidate understanding of how the IT service management skills fit into the model of the IT Service Lifecycle. For more information about gaining professional ITIL v3 qualifications, please email us, or call us on 020-7148-5985.