Dear Conrad,
You are doing it right, the only thing you are missing is the field name. You should not use the "wpcf-" prefix, use only the field name like: [types field="certificate-check-pam" separator=""][/types]
About your doubt with $certificate. That's the variable name used inside of the wpv-if. You can use anything instead of that, I will use "variable1" to show you:
[wpv-if variable1="wpcf-certificate-check-pam" evaluate="$variable1=1" debug="true"] <a href=/certificate><img src=/images/icons/certificate-pam.png>..</a> [/wpv-if]
Please let me know if you are satisfied with my answer and if I can help you with any other questions you might have.