Digital technologies are transforming our lives; from the way we work and socialise to the way we purchase goods and interact with services. But this proliferation in technology has led to an increasing need for organisations to provide better and improved digital products and services. And subsequently, IT and digital professionals are faced with new challenges. They need to ensure that the services they develop, manage and deliver continue to transform in line with the new demands.
The changing world of work
McKinsey’s recent Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation report highlighted that the change in the world of work is “akin to coping with the large-scale shift from agricultural work to manufacturing that occurred in the early 20th century in North America and Europe, and more recently in China”. But this workforce transition took place over many years, whereas we are facing a much faster pace of change.
The report also found that retraining and upskilling the workforce has become an urgent business priority and with ongoing automation and digitisation, a majority of executives think they will have to either retrain or replace more than a quarter of their staff by 2023.
Couple this disruption with the situation we are currently facing, and future job security is a huge concern.
How can IT and digital professionals ensure they stay relevant?
As organisations increasingly look to digital technologies and new ways of working to remain relevant and competitive, so too should professionals.
Continual learning and development will ensure professionals keep their skills and knowledge up to date, helping them evolve and adapt with modern ways of working, such as DevOps, lean and agile, and prepare for technologies and technical practices such as cloud, AI and automation.
Professionals can also upskill and reskill through trusted IT training and certifications, such as ITIL 4, which will provide the best practice guidance they need to navigate this increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world we live in today.
Elevating your career with ITIL 4
ITIL 4 is the evolution of ITIL, the most widely recognised framework and certification for IT and digitally-enabled services in the world. The ITIL framework has been providing millions of professionals with comprehensive, practical and proven guidance for the design, management and delivery of IT and digital products and services for over 30 years.
The ITIL 4 scheme consists of six modules and enables professionals to look at IT service management through an end-to-end IT and digital operating model that covers the full delivery and sustainability of tech-enabled products and services.
The foundation level, ITIL 4 Foundation, is for those who are at the start of their journey or who are already certified in ITIL v3 and looking to boost their existing knowledge. It introduces professionals to the architecture of ITIL 4 and its concepts, including service value system (SVS), service value chain (SVC), ITIL practices and guiding principles, and ITIL’s four dimensions.
It can help professionals discover how modern IT and digital service organisations work, understand how work contributes to organisational success, learn commonly used service management terms and concepts, and understand how value streams increase speed and efficiency. It also teaches how cultural or behavioural principles guide work that benefits the wider organisation.
Once certified in ITIL 4 Foundation, professionals can continue to build on their digital skills and knowledge and become an ITIL 4 Managing Professional and/or an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader. These courses include specialist modules on creating, delivering and supporting IT-enabled digital products and services, ensuring digital and IT services provide a great customer experience, and the future of digital and IT services. You can also take strategic and leadership modules which focus on bringing digital and IT strategies to life and enabling business success through the creation of digital and IT strategies.
