"There is so much value in doing a good certification - [for example] without the qualification you might approach a project you are stuck on with the same cyclic thinking, but [with the certification] you are armed with an arsenal of new ideas and concepts," Kleef said.

"It gives you the same value as doing [post-graduate] university work by stimulating thought, while learning different ideas from teachers who are also working professionals."

Excom's Rosini said the courses not only help to create new ideas, but bury bad habits.

"The reason someone with 20 years of experience would do a certification is to break their bad habits and to forge new ideas, tricks and troubleshooting [skills]," he said. "Certifications give IT professionals a polish and help resolve what I call the 'Swiss Cheese' effect [in that] they help IT professionals to fill up their holes of bad habits."

HP IT consulting project manager Mark Millen, an ITSM Student of the Year finalist who has 11 years industry experience and most recently completed an IT Master's certification, said adding more difficult course content will add more value.