Hundreds of adult students from diverse backgrounds to receive free training and certification in Linux administration
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 14, 2016 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, and Goodwill Central Texas, dedicated to transforming the lives of Central Texans through work, announced today a new partnership entitled the “Extended Learning Linux Foundation Scholarship Program,” which will increase access to Linux and open source training certification to underserved communities.
The scholarship program will begin with The Goodwill Excel Center and the Goodwill Career and Technical Academy in Central Texas and is expected to expand to other communities in the future. The Goodwill Excel Center is the first free public charter high school for adults in Texas. Students age 17-50 have the opportunity to earn their high school diploma, complete an in-demand professional certification and begin post-secondary education.
The Extended Learning Linux Foundation Scholarship Program created by Linux Foundation and Goodwill includes free access to the Intro to Linux (LFS101x) and Essentials of System Administration (LFS201) courses, and the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator exam at no cost. Hundreds of disadvantaged individuals from underserved communities and a variety of backgrounds are expected to enroll in the new program in the year ahead.
Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that provides career advancement training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who are facing homelessness, people with a criminal background, people that are undereducated, and people with a disability. The partnership with The Linux Foundation will open up new opportunities for the people Goodwill serves and increase the pool of experienced Linux and open source professionals. Linux and open source software are being used to build the world’s technology infrastructure. Learning these skills is a smart entry point for a lucrative technology career, as evidenced by the Linux Jobs Report which has shown year-over-year growth in openings for IT professionals skilled in these areas.
“Goodwill provides quality education to individuals who could not otherwise access it. By donating Linux and open source learning materials, we hope to provide access to individuals for some of the most lucrative careers in the world,” said Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin. “This new program should help grow the Linux and open source talent pool, while providing hundreds of people with stable and rewarding employment to support themselves and their families.”
“Many of our students have expressed interest in IT careers, so we are thrilled to partner with The Linux Foundation to provide them with the training needed to enable them to break into this growing industry,” said Matt Williams, Vice President of Education at Goodwill Central Texas. “Without this training, most of these students would never have the opportunity to pursue this type of career.”
The Linux Foundation will provide access to the training materials and exams at no charge, while Goodwill will provide professional teachers, computer labs, on-site child care and dedicated bus routes to the facility. The course will be taught as a tutorial with a live instructor; though, students will be able to go through all the self-paced lessons offered in the standard Linux Foundation courses.
To learn more about this program and The Goodwill Excel Center, please visit: http://excelcenterhighschool.org
More information about Linux Foundation training: http://training.linuxfoundation.org
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.
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