With remote and hybrid work, as well as the increasing use of AI, organisations are seeking teams that can help maintain stable IT services. IT services must be reliable, efficient, and aligned with business objectives.
Regardless of a company's size, it needs professionals who possess technical skills and understand how to deliver value through IT services.
This is where the ITIL® 4 Foundation certification can boost one's career prospects and set you up for success in IT Service Management (ITSM) roles.
Find out about the benefits of gaining an ITIL 4 Foundation certification. Discover how ITIL certification plays a valuable role in supporting AI governance.
The Benefits of an ITIL 4 Foundation Certification
The ITIL 4 Foundation certification is your first step in the ITSM journey towards mid-level and advanced credentials.
As of 2023, there are five ITIL designations: ITIL Foundation, Practice Manager, Managing Professional, Strategic Leader, and ITIL Master. Beyond Foundation, each designation has several modules that require specific exams and, in some cases, prerequisite certifications. Learn more about earning ITIL certifications here.
1. Recognised Global Standard
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) has long been the most widely adopted framework for IT service management. The ITIL 4 Foundation certificate is internationally recognised, giving professionals credibility in any industry or region. Holding the certification signals to employers that you understand industry best practises and can apply them to support business outcomes.
2. Bridges Technical and Business Goals
Modern organisations expect IT teams to do more than keep systems running—they must create measurable value. ITIL 4 (sometimes known as ITIL v4) introduces the concept of the Service Value System (SVS), which emphasises collaboration, agility, and co-creation of value. This knowledge helps bridge the gap between technical expertise and business strategy, a skill highly valued by employers when considering candidates for promotion or leadership roles.
3. Supports Career Growth Across Multiple Roles
The ITIL Foundation certificate is not only for IT service managers; it is also suitable for those in other roles. It benefits anyone working in IT operations, development, support, project management, or even business analysis. Because ITIL 4 (also known as ITIL v4) aligns with Agile, DevOps, and Lean ways of working, it helps professionals stay relevant in hybrid environments where cross-functional collaboration is the norm. This versatility opens doors to an ITIL certification career path that spans across IT service delivery and digital transformation leadership.
4. Demonstrates Commitment to Professional Development
Employers look for individuals who invest in their own growth. Earning the ITIL 4 Foundation shows initiative and dedication to current modern service management practices.
5. Boosts Employability and Salary Potential
Surveys consistently show that professionals with ITIL certification enjoy better job prospects and salary opportunities. Recruiters often list ITIL Foundation as a “preferred” or even “required” qualification for roles in IT service management, IT operations, and related leadership positions. Having the credential on your resume gives you a competitive edge in both internal promotions and external job applications.
6. Prepares You for Advanced Certifications
Finally, the ITIL 4 Foundation certification is the entry point into the broader ITIL certification scheme. It opens the pathway to intermediate and advanced designations such as ITIL Managing Professional or ITIL Strategic Leader. For professionals aspiring to advance in the ITIL certification career path in roles like senior management, CIO, or digital transformation leadership positions, these higher-level qualifications can be career-defining.
The benefits of ITIL 4 for AI Governance
Gaining a common language in ITSM is a significant benefit of learning ITIL, which I often discuss with my students. This benefit translates to AI Governance.
Understanding the ITIL 4 framework through the ITIL Foundation course helps you align technologies like AI with business goals, ethical standards, and operational excellence.
Insights from the "ITIL and Artificial Intelligence" whitepaper by PeopleCert emphasise the importance of integrating service management into an organisation's AI strategy.
1. Governance Through the Service Value System (SVS)
The ITIL 4 SVS helps organisations manage all aspects of service delivery—including AI—through interconnected practices. This system ensures that AI initiatives are aligned with strategic objectives, risk management, and compliance requirements.
2. Embedding Ethical and Responsible AI Practices
ITIL’s guiding principles—such as “optimise and automate,” “collaborate and promote visibility,” and “think and work holistically”—encourage responsible AI adoption. These principles enable leaders to assess AI systems for fairness, transparency, and accountability.
3. Managing AI Lifecycle Within ITSM
AI systems require ongoing oversight. ITIL supports this through practices like:
Change control for AI model updates
Incident management for AI-related failures
Problem management to address systemic AI issues
Continual improvement to refine AI performance and governance
4. Enhancing Data Governance and Explainability
AI governance depends on data integrity and model transparency. ITIL-aligned workflows help ensure that:
Data used in AI systems is accurate and secure.
AI decisions are explainable and auditable.
Compliance with privacy and regulatory standards is maintained.
5. Supporting Cross-Functional Collaboration
AI governance isn’t just an IT issue—it spans legal, compliance, HR, and operations. ITIL fosters collaboration across departments, ensuring that AI initiatives are inclusive and well-governed from multiple perspectives. Read about How Senior Leaders and C-suite Can Benefit from ITIL 4 Training.
Learn how ITIL training lets teams build reliability into their AI deployment and innovate safely with AI. Watch the video by iTNews.
Access ITIL Foundation Training with Lumify Work
Earning the ITIL 4 Foundation certificate is not just about learning a framework. It equips you with the language, concepts, and practices that organisations worldwide trust to align IT services with business success and now, AI governance.
Lumify Work is an Accredited Training Organisation for ITIL courses by PeopleCert and an IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) member. Download our brochure to learn about ITIL certification pathways.
With the Lumify Anywhere platform, students can access training from the comfort of their homes or from one of our campuses.
