PeopleCert announced the launch of a new Continuing Professional Development program by which “all candidates with a PeopleCert Global Best Practice certification can choose to renew within three years of their original certification dates.” This radically changes the situation for certified professionals since ITIL certifications were perpetual – until now.
According to PeopleCert’s website, “Candidates that choose not to renew their certification within 3 years of the award date will still be included on the Successful Candidates Register (SCR) but a note will be added to their record to indicate that their certification is not aligned with current certification requirements.”
The Institute argues that the new program “is designed to help you stay ahead in the busy labor market, through supporting your continuous professional development” and that continuous learning and certifying is the way to stay competitive, demonstrate commitment to upskilling to current and future employees, and elevate the personal brand.
However, the news was not taken lightly by ITSM professionals. Currently certified experts received an email with the news and didn’t hesitate to share their thoughts online. There’s a Reddit thread that has been going on for a while along with the first rumors, and today this was a recurrent topic on LinkedIn as well.
Let’s take a look at the details of the ITIL certification renewal process.
What ITIL certifications will need to be renewed?
According to PeopleCert, the certifications that will require renewal after three years are:
- ITIL® 4
- PRINCE2® 5th and 6th
- PRINCE2® Agile
- MSP® 4th and 5th
- M_o_R® 3rd and 4th
- MoP®
- P3O®
- MoV®
- AgileSHIFT®
- RESILIA®
It's worth noting that ITIL v3 certifications won't need to be renewed.
How can certifications be renewed?
There are three ways to renew PeopleCert certifications:
- You can retake the same exam by which you were certified prior to the renewal date.
- You can attend another course within the same product suite and take the exam before the renewal date.
- Collect and log CPD points (available from March 2023).
Current MyAxelos subscribers will still have the option to log their CPD points.
When do I need to renew my ITIL certification?
According to the Institute, it depends on whether you were certified before or after June 2020.
- If you were certified before 30 June 2020: You will have until 1 July 2023 to choose to renew your certification(s), regardless of your original award date.
- If you were certified after June 2020: You will have the option to renew your certification(s) within 3 years of the original award date.
ITIL certification alternatives
ITIL is one – and the most popular – ITSM framework. However, it’s not the only one. There are other frameworks out there; all with their pros and cons.
Here’s a short list of ITIL certification alternatives to explore:
- COBIT - COBIT was first released by ISACA, and its main focus is IT governance due to the fact that it helps organizations stay compliant with legal requirements and client contracts. Its main difference with ITIL is that the former aims to deliver the best IT services to the client.
- ISO 20000 - ISO 20000 is the only internationally accepted standard for ITSM, and it consists of a set of requirements for planning, designing, managing, and delivering IT services. Although ISO 20000 and ITIL overlap, the main difference is that the former is a standard that only companies can adhere to.
- IT4IT - IT4IT is the newest ITSM framework, and focuses on helping organizations build and deliver services and products faster and at a lower cost. And though it's compatible with ITIL and COBIT, the main difference with the former is that IT4IT is more prescriptive, and focuses on the flow of information rather than the processes.
Final thoughts
PeopleCert's new Continuing Professional Development program has changed the game for ITSM professionals. From now on, the PeopleCert Global Best Practice certification will have to be renewed every three years instead of being awarded perpetually.
This implies, not only, that candidates will need to get back to training periodically, but also an extra expenditure to retake the required exam.
Nonetheless, the Institute pointed out that ITIL renewals are not mandatory. But if you choose not to retake the exam, you’ll get a note next to your name in the Successful Candidates Register pointing out that your certification is not aligned with the current certification requirements.
