Program will provide verifiable, respected industry credentials to help promising individuals start an IT career

SAN FRANCISCO, January 19, 2021 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, and The Blacks In Technology Foundation, the largest community of Black technologists globally, today announced the launch of a new scholarship program to help more Black individuals get started with an IT career.

Blacks in Technology will award 50 scholarships per quarter to promising individuals. The Linux Foundation will provide each of these recipients with a voucher to register for any Linux Foundation administered certification exam at no charge, such as the Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate, Certified Kubernetes Administrator, Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator and more. Associated online training courses will also be provided at no cost when available for the exam selected. Each recipient will additionally receive one-on-one coaching with a Blacks In Technology mentor each month to help them stay on track in preparing for their exam. 

All Linux Foundation certification exams are conducted online with a proctor monitoring virtually via webcam and screen sharing. Scholarship recipients will have six months to sit for their exam, and should they fail to pass on the first attempt, one retake will be provided. Upon passing a certification exam, they will receive a PDF certificate and a digital badge which can be displayed on digital resumes and social media profiles, and which can be independently verified by potential employers. 

“We are extremely pleased to expand our partnership with Blacks in Technology to make quality open source education and certification more accessible to aspiring Black IT professionals,” said Linux Foundation SVP & GM of Training & Certification Clyde Seepersad. “While we have taken steps at The Linux Foundation to increase diversity in the open source community, there is a long way yet to go. There is so much potential talent out there, but without the resources and opportunities to nurture it, much will remain unfulfilled. We hope this program will help scholarship recipients start on the path to becoming successful IT professionals who can go on to mentor the next generation.”

“By removing the financial barrier to entry for our members, The Linux Foundation has empowered a new wave of diverse technical experts.” according to Dennis Schultz, Executive Director of the Blacks In Technology Foundation. “By offering training and certification options for all experience levels, we can meet people where they are in their technical journey and provide support along the way for long term success.”

Those interested in applying for a Blacks in Technology/Linux Foundation scholarship can do so by visiting https://foundation.blacksintechnology.net/programs/. 

About Blacks in Technology

The Blacks In Technology Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and the largest global community of Black technologists with a combined membership and social media reach of over 50,000. Membership in Blacks In Technology is free. The Blacks In Technology (BIT) Foundation’s goal and mission is to “stomp the divide” between Black workers and the rest of the tech industry and to fundamentally influence and effect change. BIT intends to level the playing field through training, education, networking, and mentorship with the support of allies, partners, sponsors, and members. For more information please visit blacksintechnology.net. 

About the Linux Foundation

Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation’s projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation’s methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

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Kubernetes Security Fundamentals (LFS460) is the newest instructor-led training course from Linux Foundation Training & Certification and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Those taking the course will gain the skills and knowledge on a broad range of best practices for securing their clouds, container-based applications and Kubernetes platforms during build, deployment and runtime, and upon completion will be ready to take the Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) certification exam. CKS registration is included for those taking the instructor-led course, though only those who already hold a Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) are permitted to sit for the exam. 

This four-day course is taught by a live, expert instructor from The Linux Foundation. Anyone may enroll in a public course – the first of which is being offered March 29-April 2, 2021 – or organizations that wish to train a team may arrange for a private course by contacting our Corporate Solutions team. Public courses are conducted online, with a live industry expert providing content and taking you through hands-on labs to teach the experience you need to secure container-based applications. The course covers more than just container security, exploring topics from before a cluster has been configured through deployment, and ongoing and agile use, including where to find ongoing security and vulnerability information. 

The course covers similar content to the Kubernetes Security Essentials (LFS260) eLearning course, but with the added benefit of a live instructor. Before enrolling, course participants are strongly encouraged to have taken or possess the requisite knowledge covered in the CKA exam. Familiarity with the skills and knowledge covered in that exam and related Kubernetes Administration (LFS458) training are necessary to be successful in the new Kubernetes Security Fundamentals course.

Enroll today and get your team ready to address any potential cloud security issues.

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The 2020 Open Source Jobs Report found that cloud skills are the most in demand by hiring managers, with 70% reporting they are more likely to hire someone with a solid foundation in cloud and container technologies. Additionally, a D2iQ study found that “only 23% of organizations believe they have the talent required to successfully complete their cloud native journey”. If you’re looking to move to a new career this year, gaining cloud skills and knowledge is the place to start, and now is the time to make it happen.

Last summer, The Linux Foundation and Cloud Native Computing Foundation launched our first ever bootcamp programs to help individuals become trained and certified in cloud technologies in a structured, supported way. The Cloud Engineer Bootcamp and Advanced Cloud Engineer Bootcamp contain the training courses and exams to get you prepared with the knowledge and skills to succeed in a career as a cloud administrator or engineer in as little as six months, and the verifiable, industry-leading certifications to demonstrate those skills. 

The Cloud Engineer Bootcamp is designed for relative newbies, who want to start an IT career with little or no prior experience. As cloud technologies are underpinned by Linux, the program starts with two courses giving you the Linux skills you need to get started, and the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam to help you prove it. The program then continues with three courses focused on cloud and container technologies, finishing with the highly-sought Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam.

The Advanced Cloud Engineer Bootcamp assumes you already possess the requisite Linux knowledge to make a start with learning about cloud technologies, so jumps right in with two cloud and containers courses and the CKA exam. This bootcamp then moves into more advanced cloud concepts and technologies, including service mesh, monitoring, logging and application management, in four additional courses. 

Both bootcamps include office hours with live instructors daily via Zoom, giving you the opportunity to ask questions and get help understanding the course material. There are also bootcamp forums, providing the chance to interact with fellow enrollees and discuss lessons and topics. Upon completion, you will receive a verifiable, digital badge for completing the bootcamp, as well as badges for passing each certification exam.

Through January 19, both bootcamps are reduced in price from their usual price of $999 (already a substantial discount from the $2,300 list price of the bootcamp components) to only $599. Those wishing to take both bootcamps can choose that option for only $899. Take advantage of this limited time offer to propel yourself into a new, highly lucrative career in 2021!

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