ITIL Experts (certified) - How many are out there?

[lazzareo2010]

Does anybody know how many certified ITIL Experts there are in the UK & the rest of the world?

[UKVIKING]

more than 1 less than the total number of itil foundation certificate holder
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter

[Diarmid]

I expect the certifying bodies do.
_________________
"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718

[UKVIKING]

Diarmid

Ya know ... I think that you are right in that

but at least I have the range
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter

[LizGallacher]

The latest figures I have cover from October 09 until August 2010. They are the official figures and cover all examination institutes. However it is not clear whether unsuccessful candidates are included!! Anyway the figures for the 2 routes - Managers bridge and MALC are as follows:

MB MALC
370 60 Oct-09
350 65 Nov-09
300 80 Dec-09
230 80 Jan-10
200 90 Feb-10
400 120 Mar-10
300 135 Apr-10
360 125 May-10
330 100 Jun-10
230 150 Jul-10
400 180 Aug-10 Giving totals of

3470 1185
_________________
Liz Gallacher,
ITIL EXPERT
Accredited ITIL and ISO/IEC20000 Trainer and Consultant - Freelance

[ChrisD]

Hello Liz,
Thanks for the detailed and concise reply.

(Without wishing to be appear a 'fuddy duddy', it is refreshing to see a sensible and meaningful response in this forum.)


..... Chris

[UKVIKING]

ChrisD

Thanks for the kudos to Liz and the cough cough slight to myself.

I do provide a sensible and meaningful response but not that often
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter

[DaveInSeoul]

The numbers that Liz points out are for those who fall under APG certified accreditors - there are a couple of other EI certified by OGC - namely ISEB and CMSE (usa).

So I'm guessing the numbers are slightly higher.

But this is still a rarified certification - I would be VERY surprised if there were more than 5000 ITIL experts world-wide.

[UKVIKING]

Dave in Seoul

There is a world of difference between 5000 people extremely knowledgeable about ITIL B.P. and 5000 people who are ITIL expert

The first group would know what they are talking about and have the experience to show for it as well

The second group would have taken the time to get all the exam certification for ITIL v3 leading to the ITIL Expert certification designation

The ITIL v3 certification of ITIL Expert does not mean the person is knowledgeable and experienced in ITIL B.P, it just means they took the exams.

Some one can spend several months and £$$$$ for all of the courses and the certification yet have no clue about how to implement Service Management using ITIL B.P.

Some people of course can be in both groups and neither groups
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter

[thechosenone69]

U.K,

I call those people headless chickens where they have no freakin clue where they are going unless collecting certificates. Just like people that collect stamps and basketball cards.

Liz,

Thanks for the statistics, that want expected

Regards,
Ali
_________________
Ali Makahleh
Configuration Management(Blue Badge),
ITILV2 Service Manager(Red Badge),
ITILV3 Expert(Lilac Badge) Certified.

“If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." W. Edwards Deming.

[LizGallacher]

[DaveInSeoul]

I am well aware of the "badge collector" issue - we have that occuring in my own company.

One of my colleagues and I have spent the last four years trying to actually implement ITIL at our worksite - and I could spend two or three days (and maybe even longer) telling you about the good, bad, and the ugly of trying to bring ITIL into an organization that has big resisters in high places.

Without getting specific, let me just say that we have had more than our share of less than helpful advice from people both internal and external to the company. A great deal of the that advice has come from "badge collectors" - people who have passed the exams, but have never really gone through the hard knocks of dealing with all the organizational change issues (read people issues). Dealing with the resistance to change within the organization has been our biggest issue. A "badge collector" won't necessarily have any answers for those issues.

Having said that, in my company (as in other IT companies in the US at least) getting ITIL Expert certified has benefits for both horizontal and vertical job growth. I know in my company, having acheived ITIL expert status has gotten me some significant visibility.

I think both experience and a certain amount of certification are equally as valuable - unfortunately people who have both (in large quantities) are pretty rare - hence the job opportunities.
_________________
Dave Martin
ITIL v3 Expert
Ph.D (C), Information Technology

[DaveInSeoul]

BTW - I stand corrected on my earlier OGC - APMG post - thanks, Liz.
_________________
Dave Martin
ITIL v3 Expert
Ph.D (C), Information Technology

[BorisBear]

[TomOzITIL_2]

But it is not that big a deal, so why not do it? I acknowledge that it is absolutely not a test of expertise.

To be honest, for the V2 Managers like Viking, the V2-3 Mgrs bridge is a quick, relatively cheap and somewhat cheerful way to get the extra badge.

For me, I learned how to pass an exam, but also realised how much experience I still need to gain in the areas of SPM and CSI. So it was time and (the company's) money well spent. I learned alot more by doing ISO20k consulting certs too.

Cisco or Microsoft certified techos will always try to upgrade as technology changes. Sure ITSM people are "different" but like buying a new business suit every 12 months, throwing out that 1994 Simpsons necktie - sometimes you just suck it up, upgrade your certs and see this as a minimum ticket to the dance.

Experience, referees and intelligence should always win out.