Many people do not know that the operating energy of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) comes from partnering with professional companies and community groups to spread the word about Free and Open Source Software and the need for solid education and certification on systems administration that is vendor and distribution neutral.
Since January 2013 the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) has partnered with FlexableIT so that FlexableIT can be the local resource and support for LPI Certification in the UK and Irish region. Since the inception of the partnership; the number of Certifications have grown year on year, the number of Partners have grown and local community events have been initiated by FlexableIT.
In 2013 Jon A. Hall met Bill Quinn of FlexableIT, and was immediately struck by the drive and intensity of the man behind the company. Bill understood Free Software, and understood the FOSS community. He saw the value of building relationships with universities and local user groups. FlexableIT arranged, with their own funding, for Jon A. Hall to reach out to several of these universities to talk about the real opportunities offered for education through the use of Free and Open Technologies.
In 2015 Bill reached out again, and meetings took place with several large companies to show the value of having workers trained in how to leverage Free Software for better solutions to business problems and how this creates an economy of local programmers doing high-skill technical jobs, which keeps the expertise and the money in the local marketplace.
Both LPI and FlexableIT now believe that the time is right to look to the future and make a long term commitment to the UK and Irish market. The key outcomes are:
- FlexableIT will remain in operation but a new company focused on IT Certification will be created. This new company is called Future Cert Limited.
- LPI and Future Cert have committed to a 5 year plan to promote Open Source, Local Community Events and support Certification.
- A large awareness campaign will take place around the value of Certification with a focus on increased employment and opportunities for promotion
- Future Cert will continue to work with schools and educational authorities to support curriculum that will allow the learning of Linux and Open Source at younger ages
“The time is right to look to the future, media talks about the shortage of Linux skills both globally and locally. This is a view that we regularly hear from industry – how do we source good quality Linux Pros”, says Bill Quinn founder of Future Cert. “We had to change the way LPI was represented in the UK and Ireland to address this need so it was logical to pull the LPI Certification into a standalone business with a long term focus and goal around Open Source”.
“Bill Quinn has both the business and community skills to help expand LPI Certification and the Free Software Community itself in the UK and Ireland.” said G. Matthew Price, Executive Director of the Linux Professional Institute. “I have worked with Bill for a couple of years, and I am impressed with his hard work and knowledge of the community. I look forward to working with him in the future.”
Jon A. Hall and LPI are looking forward to working with Bill Quinn and Future Cert, and I welcome Future Cert as this new entity (but with old friends) into the Linux Professional Institute community.
Posted on behalf of Jon A. Hall (aka maddog), Chairman of the Board Linux Professional Institute and G. Matthew Rice, Executive Director Linux Professional Institute.
Announcement on LPI website: https://www.lpi.org/lpi-and-future-cert-make-a-long-term-commitment-to-the-uk-and-irish-region/