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Blog posted by: John O'Brien, Head of Membership, AXELOS, 25 January 2017.

What does the future hold for IT service management (ITSM) and project management professionals?

Since we launched AXELOS Membership it’s something that we’ve been wanting to explore, especially from a skills perspective, which is why we embarked on this project.

The resulting two reports released yesterday – respectively titled The Future IT Service Management/Project Management Professional – are the combined knowledge and insight of over 500 project management and ITSM practitioners.

Their views – collected through surveys, roundtable discussions and phone interviews – offer a platform from which we can all view the future of these industries while giving today’s professionals a flavour of what they can do to capitalize on that future.

Downloading these new reports will give you a clear picture of what colleagues in your industry, alongside recognized experts, predict will happen in the next few years. However, to whet your appetite, we have identified some common, emerging themes running through both ITSM and project management.

In both areas, our surveys revealed:

1. An upbeat and optimistic view of the future
2. A shift among practitioners to more strategic roles and responsibilities in their organizations
3. The need to build enhanced skills and develop new professional capabilities.

A case for optimism

The optimism in the ITSM community is well-founded: their expertise in ITIL® equips practitioners to make the shift towards deploying service management approaches in areas beyond IT to maximise the focus on customer needs. Similarly, the increasing need for organizations to change and improve quickly in line with market demand means project managers are well-placed to help guide such essential transformations. For both sets of professionals, the career opportunities are plain to see.

Achieving successful corporate change will be the result of ITSM and project management professionals taking a more strategic involvement that links tactical and functional activities to overall corporate objectives. The view of ITSM and project management practitioners will evolve beyond facilitators as they demonstrate broader business awareness, critical thinking and a greater strategic vision for their organizations.

This shift in the way ITSM professionals and project managers are deployed will be vital for an organization’s continued prosperity and will only succeed with the right skills in place. Professionals who don’t adapt, evolve and learn continually will get left behind in a fast-changing world. Staying on top of developments in your industry, organization and in your professional practices will be essential to progress your career. And this means having more than just technical skills and best practices but also more diverse business and soft skills.

Investing now in your future skills

Being prepared for the professional demands you will encounter in the future means taking a more active role in your continuing professional development.

Both the ITIL and PRINCE2® Membership programmes have been developed to help practitioners by giving you access to the latest knowledge and learning content, while enabling you to record and demonstrate the progress of your development. Membership also points you in the direction of additional training, mentoring and how to learn by engaging with colleagues outside your usual job function. And recognizing that you are part of a professional community provides the incentive to seek peer support and share learning experiences.

What our latest research has reiterated is the pressing need for individuals and their employers to harness the right skills if they are – collectively – to make the best, strategic decisions for ongoing survival and success.

See our Skills for the future and AXELOS Membership sections for more information.

Read John O'Brien's previous blog post for AXELOS, Does your CV stand up to scrutiny? Providing proof with digital badges.