[Linux-aus] And now for something completely different

[Les Bell]

Bret Busby <bret at busby.net> wrote:

>>
However, I believe that that has now been addressed, by Jodie from RH;
the course and exam are offered in Perth.
<<

Agreed, the RHCE/RHCT situation seems to be under control. As someone who
has taught many courses in Adelaide, Perth and Darwin, I can only say that
the ability to run courses in those cities is directly dependent upon
getting the numbers. In recent years, demand simply hasn't been there, and
I haven't been to any of those cities for two or three years now.

>>
Secondly, with what you have said about what you do, above, there has
previously been discussion of the need for generic
(distribution-independent) certification in Perth. Perhaps, that is
something that could be considered.
<<

The LPI certification exams can be taken at at least four different
locations in Perth - see http://www.vue.com/lpi/ for a link which will lead
to their locations. One of the considerations in development of the LPI
exams was that they should be available at reasonable cost, and should not
require training from any specific (either distro or training) vendor. In
practice, the exams cost about the same as the more common MCSE exams.

>>
The free certification testing, is certainly something of great
interest, and would, I believe, be of great interest to students
(post-secondary), apart from employed (and self-employed) people, as a
means of bettering their qualifications. That is something that I
believe in well worth considering. Funding for it, by someone like IBM,
would probably be of immense value to them, in terms of goodwill, etc.

With your references to IBM, with IBM's size and revenue, and its status
regarding Linux, if IBM were to fund the development (and possibly
provision) of generic Linux certification, I believe that it would do
well for IBM as a company, for IBM's standing in the Linux community,
and, for the Linux community.
<<

I can't speak for IBM, but everything I've seen indicates that IBM believes
in an independent certification, and to that end, has been a long-standing
Platinum Sponsor of LPI. In addition, IBM's own Linux courses have been
carefully designed to prepare candidates for all the major Linux
certifications. Caldera (now SCO) has also been a Platinum sponsor of LPI.

At the IBM p-Series and Linux Technical University, in Innsbruck in
November, we were able to arrange for one free LPI certification test for
each attendee. I should imagine that a similar arrangement could be
concluded for a Linux Australia event to be held in conjunction with
linux.conf.au, and I can look into that.

Best,

--- Les Bell
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]