Linux System Administration Training of Trainers in the South Pacific, 31 October - 11 November 2005
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A major barrier against adoption and deployment of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in developing of countries in the Asia Pacific is the lack of human resources with FOSS skills. This pilot programme aims to address the problem by training trainers in countries, so that these trainers in turn will be able to train others and kick start the self-sustaining development of FOSS human resources. Using an internationally recognized skills standard will also aid the local ICT industry as it opens the doors to foreign investment and the international market.
Most ICT skills training and certification programmes are vendor driven with the certification process designed as a revenue earner for the vendor. The process of training, materials and examination is usually done at training centres. In addition to indirect costs of vendor lock-in, this combination also results in prohibitively high costs of training and certification for developing countries with training programmes fees costing as much as USD1,000 or more per trainee.
Using GNU/Linux open standards and a standard community driven skills certification opens up the market for multiple providers of FOSS GNU/Linux solutions. Independent proctors also opens up the market for providers of training and training materials. Proctors can provide low cost paper examinations to commercial and non-commercial organizations as well as the local FOSS community, independent of how individuals seeking to get certified acquired their training. These examinations coupled with open content training materials can lower the costs of training and certification per person to as low as USD100 or less.
The scope of this training programme is regional. It was held for South-Pacific Island nations, with trainees and proctors from Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. The training materials and training programme are already open content licensed, and any new material created for the training will also be licensed under open content for other countries to adopt and use as needed.
This is an International Open Source Network (IOSN) initiative.
Key Outputs
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LPI Level 1 Certified trainers who will then be able to conduct similar training workshops.
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Certified LPI proctors who can administer affordable LPI certification examinations in their native countries.
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Training materials including course outline, presentations and notes to be available under an open content license.
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Report detailing training of trainers program experiences and results.
Partners
University of the South Pacific, Fiji
The University of the South Pacific (USP) is the premier provider of tertiary education in the Pacific region and an international centre of excellence for teaching, research consulting and training on all aspects of Pacific culture, environment and human resource development needs. The Department of Mathematics and Computing Science supports the use of FOSS in computing courses.
SOPAC is the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission. It is an inter-governmental, regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. SOPAC’s work is carried out through its Secretariat, based in Suva, Fiji.
LPI was formally incorporated as a Canadian non-profit in October 25, 1999, and is headquartered near Toronto. They attempt to bring together an active and committed community with the companies and professionals who can fund and carry out LPI's initiatives. LPI is recognized worldwide as the premier organization advocating and assisting in the professional use of Linux, open source, and free software. LPI Linux certifications are vendor neutral.
Related Links
Find out more about this training
APDIP Projects in Pacific Island Countries
FOSS in Pacific Island Countries
ICT4D in Pacific Island Countries - Profile and Resources
Last modified 2006-04-07 09:39 PM
