Open University launches £3,000 IT services management course

Online course to help address 'most pressing skills gap in IT'

The Open University and IT and business skills training provider Global Knowledge have teamed up to launch a postgraduate certificate for IT service managers, which they say will help to address the "most pressing skills gap in IT".

In e-skills UK's UK Technology Insights 2011 report, it found that of the additional IT skills required by UK businesses in the next eight years, 40 per cent will be in service management.

Allan Pettman, UK managing director at Global Knowledge, told Computing that the postgraduate degree will cover business issues, something that current Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) courses do not address.

"ITIL is the default methodology of service management, a number of courses have been introduced that teach people involved in service management the fundamental building blocks. However, it does not address people issues or make a distinct connection in delivering business value from a commercial perspective," he argued.

"IT service managers need more rounded skills so that they can generate business cases, help organisations with strategy and get the IT department into the boardroom as a business enabler," he added.

Kevin Streater, head of IT industry engagement at the Open University, said the one-year course will give ITIL experts more recognition in the wider business for the skills that they have.

"Although a CIO will know what an ITIL expert is, HR won't. They will understand a postgraduate degree. If a person has an IT background, and gone through the ITIL processes, we want them to get the same recognition as their peers in other parts of business so that if they wanted to move into a different part of the organisation they could do that," he explained.

The online course will cost about £3,000.

Streater and Pettman said the course will test an employee's ability to apply ITIL knowledge in the business.

"If candidates can show that they are applying ITIL knowledge in the business then this will help them to get the certificate," Streater said.

The certificate can also be counted towards a master's degree in technology management, an MBA or other master's level learning programmes.