2KO International, operating out of Hout Bay, Cape Town, has settled on the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certification route for Linux training. Over the past 18 months there has been a steady increase in demand for Linux training culminating in course full signs going up more than two months in advance.
"Demand for courses is almost inevitably a good indicator of job opportunities," says MD of 2KO International, Barry Smith. "Since the start of this year (2005) the floodgates have opened for Linux training and we are having to schedule extra classes to cope with demand," says Smith.
The trend towards open source software continues to strengthen and the Shuttleworth Foundation`s Ubuntu Linux is a leading light for those once maligned believers.
"The LPI exams are aimed at lower level Linux administrators who will usually have some Linux administration experience," says Marc McRae, the trainer in charge of 2KO`s Linux curriculum. "The content of the Linux LPI course is very thorough and after some time of switching backwards and forwards between the two, we decided the LPI route would be most beneficial to our clients" continued McRae.
Linux training at 2KO`s centre in Hout Bay is popular with four groups of students: those who are locally based in Cape Town, students from the UK who benefit from studying away from the distractions of home and work, students from elsewhere in SA, and also students from throughout Africa.
"This is mainly due to our efforts in SEO," says Smith. "Cape Town is a well known destination for tourism but it is also becoming a centre for learning as thousands of students learn English as a foreign language and a variety of other professional courses in Cape Town, in addition to IT courses." Demand for Linux is rising continuously and more training centres are likely to see an up-tick in this training field. The days of Linux being a reserve of the geeky nerd who loved only command line stuff is over.
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