[Linux-aus] LA Certification

Mon Jul 3 11:03:20 AEST 2023

I think Kathy makes some very valid points: I suspect that becoming an 
accreditation body either by:

  * Some type of formal, outside recognition; or
  * Simply becoming the "de facto" accreditation body for something

...would take time, dedication, and effort.

Or enough money to pay someone to do so -- which is another can of worms.

I think Linux Australia might be able to do it, but I sense it'd be a 
long term goal, take a lot of dedication if administered "not for 
salary" or cost a reasonable amount of money.

As for ACS - there are good individuals in ACS but I've always sensed 
whilst ACS and LinuxSA do have overlap in areas, their ethos is subtly 
different and their cultures similar but different enough to require 
careful, tactful, and deep listening to work closely with each other 
(which Linux Australia would necessarily have to do if ACS agreed to be 
the accrediting body by lending its credibility or framework, for example).

I am _not_ criticising either organisation; just mentioning that to me 
the cultures are different enough to make working together not as easy 
as it might seem at first (but what is, right?).

DSL

On 7/2/2023 8:39 PM, Kathy Reid via linux-aus wrote:
> Right, to maintain accreditation you need to have continuous 
> professional development - usually measured in points.
>
> That CPD is usually administered by the accrediting body, so in this 
> scenario Linux Australia is positioned as the accrediting body. We 
> could work *with* an accrediting body, but the only one that comes to 
> mind is the Australian Computer Society, who don't tend to be Linux- 
> or open source- focused, and in recent years have moved to become much 
> more of a profit-generating entity rather than a for-members based 
> society (for example, a large portion of their revenue is membership 
> from particular visa holders who have to maintain professional 
> membership as a condition of their visa). I don't think we want to 
> *be* an accrediting body, but I could be wrong.
>
> There's a second point here too - this type of work requires labour 
> and time and effort. Who would do this?
>
> Best, Kathy
>
> On 3/7/23 10:16, Info via linux-aus wrote:
>> Lots of professions have accreditation points systems. To maintain 
>> accreditation as XYZ, you have to attend ongoing training on XYZ to 
>> the value of 100 points each year.
>>
>> LA could work with groups like PHP to allocate points for relevant 
>> sessions. Or just make up nominal points based on hours per subject 
>> and type of session. As an example, a one hour intense workshop on 
>> configuring a Web server might might be worth 10 points for server 
>> admin, 5 for the PHP related content, and 3 for security related tasks.
>>
>> While it is overall a bit flaky, it is easier to explain to 
>> management. :-)
>> They can enter the numbers in a spreadsheet. :-))
>>
>> On 3/7/23 08:56, Kathy Reid via linux-aus wrote:
>>> Hi Russell,
>>>
>>> Firstly I want to say thank you for this suggestion - I think it's 
>>> great
>>> that people are thinking about how Linux Australia could help members
>>> with professional development.
>>>
>>> There are a few different use cases here:
>>>
>>> Certificates of attendance
>>>
>>> These would be event specific, and, IMHO, the domain of the event
>>> organisers, but I see no reason why they couldn't be issued. LA could
>>> assist with a template.
>>>
>>> Endorsement of skills
>>>
>>> I don't see this as a certification piece, it's much more an 
>>> endorsement
>>> of one person by another - and we have platforms for that already, like
>>> LinkedIn, or other job platforms.
>>>
>>> Vendor certification
>>>
>>> This is a way for vendors to have their products enmeshed in industry;
>>> vendor certification is a way of legitimising a vendor's product range,
>>> and requiring people to *maintain* certification provides an ongoing
>>> revenue stream. LA is not a vendor, so I don't see us playing in this
>>> space.
>>>
>>> Non-vendor certification
>>>
>>> This is where players like the LPI have carved out a niche - providing
>>> non-vendor-specific certifications. In Australia at least there are
>>> several such providers, like LogiTrain and Knowledge Academy. I don't
>>> think this is where LA want to play because we're not set up for it.
>>>
>>> So, what *could* LA do in this space, if the goal is to help people 
>>> with
>>> their Linux / FLOSS / open source / open * careers?
>>>
>>> We already have the Jobs board [0], with huge thanks to Mr Hesketh 
>>> who I
>>> believe still maintains it. I'd love to get this auto-posting to our
>>> LinkedIn and Mastodon properties to increase its value and reach at 
>>> some
>>> stage. Or, the volume is low enough it could be done manually.
>>>
>>> We could create some content on the website to point people in various
>>> directions - attend events here, here's what to consider in terms of
>>> certification, here's the type of certifications our members have. That
>>> is, help outline the pathways people could take with Linux and open
>>> source in their career. That might be the action here? A page which
>>> outlines what directions open source could take your career, and how
>>> that might work in Australia - to provide guidance.
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>>
>>> Kathy Reid
>>>
>>> [0] https://linux.org.au/jobs/
>>>
>>> On 3/7/23 00:23, Russell Coker via linux-aus wrote:
>>>> Would there be a benefit in having Linux Australia certification?
>>>>
>>>> Companies like Google give out certificates when people attend 
>>>> their training,
>>>> would certificates of attendance be of any interest to people?
>>>>
>>>> What about certification of skilled contribution to FOSS projects?  
>>>> We could
>>>> have a system where members of the projects can endorse worthy 
>>>> contributors
>>>> for a certification of their skills and work.  Would that help 
>>>> people get
>>>> jobs?
>>>>
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