Linux Scholarship Submissions Open, Expanded Enterprise Linux Training Available

Today we are launching the 2012 Linux Training Scholarship Program. This is the second year we’ll award scholarships to attend Linux Foundation Linux training courses in what is now becoming an annual program.

As Linux becomes more ubiquitous, we as a community are faced with new challenges. One of those challenges is finding, recruiting and training enough professional talent to meet the demand for Linux developers and IT staff (SysAdmin, DevOps, etc). The statistics back this up: the 2012 Linux Jobs Report showed that 81 percent of hiring managers say that hiring Linux talent is a priority this year but 85 percent say finding those folks is hard to do.

What does this mean for both up-and-coming and existing developers and IT personnel? A career in Linux is a smart bet. And, as the infographic to the left points out, a Linux career means more cash and a bigger cause.

One of the ways The Linux Foundation and its members are aiming to help address the high demand for Linux talent and help that talent achieve their career goals is with vendor-neutral Linux training courses direct from the source. But we realize that not everyone can afford to take classes that expand their knowledge beyond the free Linux training webinars we offer.

So, as part of ths year’s Linux Training Scholarship Program, we’re inviting up-and-coming and experienced developers and IT staff to submit their 2012 applications via the short, online form for an opportunity to win a free Linux training course valued at an average cost of $2,500. We will award five scholarships this year, which will be based on each applicant’s ability to demonstrate their need, proven interest in working on Linux and their vision for the future of the operating system.

Scholarship winners will also have more courses to choose from this year. The Linux Foundation today is also announcing the expansion of its training program to include enterprise Linux training courses, including Cloud Architecture and Deployment; Advanced Performance Tuning; and Linux Security. We see equal demand for both Linux developers and enterprise architects, as evidenced in our Linux Jobs Report.

As Linux use grows to support cloud computing and high performance computing, companies have come to us looking for a neutral source for acquiring and sustaining skills in these areas. The Linux Foundation is not looking to duplicate what’s already offered in the market; instead, it is expanding its program to train professionals working for enterprises that have technology at their core and are optimizing Linux and open source for competitive advantage.

Last year we received more than 200 submissions and the stories that were shared were amazing to hear. We get a plethora of interesting applications that demonstrate the wide range of Linux use around the globe, from students and teachers using Linux to help advance classroom learning to young developers submitting (and having accepted) patches into the Linux kernel to Linux professionals who want to learn how to better manage their cloud environments. 

We look forward to seeing your submissions and hearing your stories. Once again, here is the submission form.