IBM and Red Hat Join Forces to Enhance Linux Knowledge and Job Skills

To better prepare college students for the jobs of tomorrow, IBM and Red Hat are working together to collaborate with educators in teaching students the open source, standards-based skills necessary to compete for the information technology jobs of tomorrow.

Through the IBM Academic Initiative and Red Hat Academy programs, the two organizations will collaborate with educators on several levels, including Linux skills-building and curriculum development. This initiative expands upon an ongoing relationship between IBM and Red Hat, which have worked together to deliver Linux solutions to the enterprise since 1999.

Linux continues to be the fastest growing operating system, according to IDC, and some analysts project it will overtake Windows in new server shipments in the next few years. IBM's own research at 3,000 colleges and universities worldwide highlights a strong need for open standards-based offerings. A survey of 450 global CEOs by IBM Business Consulting Services revealed that 75 percent of the CEOs surveyed cited education and the lack of qualified candidates as the issues that will have the greatest impact on their business over the next three years.

"There is an increasing demand for high-value, high-paying jobs that require skills in open standards technologies like Linux," said Gina Poole, vice president, Developer Relations and the IBM Academic Initiative, IBM. "We are pleased to be working with our long-time business partner, Red Hat, to help students develop the cutting-edge technology skills they need, especially in open source technology."

Working together, IBM and Red Hat will help institutions educate students and generate high-value job skills on Linux, as well as training on IBM software and servers. This relationship seeks to help spread the adoption of open standards around the world and will include the spectrum of higher education institutions, from large research universities to community colleges and vocational schools. Upon graduation, students will understand the relevance and power of open standards and business on demand. They will possess the necessary skills for employment, including mastery of Linux.

"Open Source skills are highly regarded by employers. This reflects the widespread adoption of Linux in the mainstream enterprise," said Peter Childers, vice president of Global Learning Services at Red Hat. "As leaders in technical training, Red Hat and IBM will be a trusted source for educators adding Linux to the curriculum."

The IBM Academic Initiative is an innovative program offering a wide range of technology education benefits from free to fee that can scale to meet the goals of most colleges and universities. IBM will work with schools -- that support open standards and seek to use open source and IBM technologies for teaching purposes -- both directly and virtually via the Web. For more information on the IBM Academic Initiative, visit www.ibm.com/university.

Schools across the globe are recognizing the value and need to teach students relevant and proven Linux knowledge and skills in their technology programs. Through its Academy program, Red Hat has created a challenging Linux curriculum to meet this demand. Red Hat offers the only 100% fully web deployed and managed curriculum program that creates proven competencies from hands-on, performance-based testing and assessments. For more information, please visit www.redhat.com/training/academy.

About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, the world's leading open source and Linux provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC, with satellite offices spanning the globe. Red Hat is leading Linux and open source solutions into the mainstream by making high-quality, low-cost technology accessible. Red Hat provides operating system software along with middleware, applications and management solutions. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's Open Source strategy offers customers a long-term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies with focus on security and ease of management. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com

About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key IBM Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of on-demand business. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com.


LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.

RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.

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