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Amazon Web Services training goes online

The online training series is designed to provide an alternative to Amazon's classroom-based training programme.

By Cathleen O'Grady
Johannesburg, 19 Aug 2013

CBT Nuggets has introduced online video training to help IT professionals prepare for Amazon's Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification programmes.

The two video training series - AWS Certified Solutions Architect: Foundations and AWS Certified Solutions Architect: Architecting - are intended to assist in meeting the high demand for AWS certification. "The current demand for AWS certification skills is overwhelming," says Jeremy Cioara, host of the training series.

According to the IDC, 1.7 million cloud-related positions were unfilled over the past year due to a lack of certified skills. The demand is expected to increase by 26% annually until 2015, creating up to seven million new cloud-related jobs. "Companies are actively looking for people who can demonstrate knowledge in - and who have hands-on experience at - building secure and reliable cloud-based applications using AWS technology," says Cioara. "So acquiring certification is a no-brainer for people who want a competitive edge."

Amazon provides classroom-based training for the certification, but the training courses are held in various physical training centres, forcing students to travel in order to attend the courses. The CBT Nuggets series enable students to undergo training at their own pace, online, says Cioara.

An additional advantage of taking the training online is the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience, he adds. While the on-site training is focused on theory, the online courses include practical experience. Students are advised to obtain an AWS account to practice skills learned in the training.

The Foundation series consists of 14 videos, while the Architecting series comprises 18, all presented in "nuggets", or short lessons of approximately 30 minutes. A subscription to the service provides access to all content, as well as training videos for other IT certification. Free "MicroNuggets" are also available on YouTube.

Although the online training series is not conducted in partnership with Amazon, the training series was designed as a standalone training course, sufficient to sit the Amazon certification exam. Exams are administered at Kryterion testing centres, which are found worldwide, including 13 in SA.

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