Along with the increasing focus on Linux as an alternative platform for companies of all size, IT departments are beginning to skill up engineers and systems administrators for careers in Linux while at the same time, hiring new staff that have Linux skills.
"Looking at the level of student coming through Obsidian`s training centre, at least 60% of our students are newcomers," Warren Bell, Red Hat trainer at Obsidian systems says. "This is a clear indication of the growing popularity of Linux in the corporate sector and the growing demand for Linux skills in the market."
But is official certification playing a big role in the trend towards the increase in both veterans and newcomers embarking on Linux certification programmes or is perceived Linux experience still enough for both existing employees and candidates for new positions to make the grade?
"Most Linux gurus would agree that it`s not about the certification, but more about the candidate`s skill level, experience and overall proficiency with Linux. But unless the candidate has been working within the company`s environment for years where their Linux experience could be gauged or the person hiring a new candidate has first-hand knowledge of that candidate`s experience level, there`s no telling for sure what the candidate or existing employee`s true experience level is," says Bell.
"Certification has emerged as the only sure-fire way for a company to gauge the experience level of an existing employee or new employee," Bell continues. "It is imperative, however, that employees are in possession of the right type of certification.
"I`m not implying that some distributions of Linux are better than others with the upshot of their certifications being more respected than their peers, but rather that the methodology used in attaining certifications for some distributions is superior to others," Bell qualifies.
Obsidian`s decision to standardise on Red Hat`s training track was to a great degree based on the fact that it is one of those `right` certifications. "We`ve found that the Red Hat training and certification track meets with the industry`s satisfaction, because both the training and certification processes are done in a very hands-on manner," Bell explains.
"With a practical examination like the ones required for certification on Red Hat Linux, companies can rest assured that employees and potential employees have the knowledge required, as well as the practical experience to hit the ground running."
The benefits of hands-on training and examination processes have clear benefits to the candidates too.
"Over the past year there has been a notable increase in both newcomers and veteran Linux experts attending our training," Bell says. "While this is understandable from a newcomer`s perspective, since they finish as certified Linux engineers that have the hands on skills to perform in the Linux space, the fact that more and more veterans are attending training is something that we`ve spent some time understanding.
"After speaking to our veteran students, we found that the hands-on methodology has great value to them, since they`re increasing their portfolio of experience and learning new things during the training process. Often, these new areas of expertise aren`t covered in their day to day work tasks, so they find it valuable to gain hands-on knowledge and experience in those areas, instead of simply learning that functionality from a textbook and writing a multiple choice exam that in their opinion does not prove their proficiency in that area."
Bell says this trend is very different to the norm a couple of years ago. "A year or two ago, few veterans attended the training and simply sat the practical exam. Now they`re attending the training because of the additional knowledge they gain in the process."
What Bell says is astounding, is the fact that companies are still not convinced about the benefits of certification when sending current IT staff on Linux training. "Maybe it has to do with the age-old adage of empowering staff with the skills required to do their jobs better, but not making them marketable to the outside world by granting them the ability to certify?
"I`m not sure of the reason, but what we have noted is that those employees are certifying anyway, in some cases saving for months to afford the examination fee. All this scenario does is cultivate a unhealthy lack of faith in employers," Bell says.
"Possibly companies need to reconsider their thinking on whether or not to allow their employees to certify? After all, the trend in the market is to only hire new staff that have the relevant certifications," Bell concludes.
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