I believe Matt is strongly pro accreditation.
http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/business-it/fierce-debate-is...
http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/business-it/fierce-debate-is...
It's a bit unpleasant reading these articles (Barrie's and the original by Harper) now, as I currently work for Bigcommerce, and turned down an offer from Freelancer. Ironically, Freelancer offerred me about 40% less salary because at the time I had a theoretical background and almost zero practical experience.