The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) has long been the world’s premier vendor-neutral Linux certifier, but even after years, it was never able to get its top-level certification out the door. Next month, that will change, with the release of LPIC-3 (Linux Professional Institute Certification level 3).
LPIC-3 will be LPI’s senior certification level for Linux professionals. To get it, candidates will be required to hold both LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 designations.
LPI will launch the program in January, and will hold the first North American exam lab at Novell Inc.’s BrainShare conference in March, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
LPI recently changed its certification rules. People who already have an LPIC will now have to re-certify every five years, or, alternatively, earn a higher certification status. Previously, recertification was only required after ten years.
To get recertified, candidates must pass all up-to-date exams that are required for their highest earned certification designation. Certification designations earned before Sep. 1, 2004 are no longer be considered “lifetime” designations. Instead these certifications will only have active status for five years from the date of certification. However, certification designations earned prior to September 1, 2003 will be considered “active” certifications until Sep. 1, 2008.
Jim Lacey, president and CEO of LPI, also noted that Novell will be launching a series of initiatives to promote Linux professional credentials. In particular, LPI welcomed the cooperation of Novell on the development of the LPIC-3.
Lacey also praised Novell’s recent announcement of an innovative free online “Train the Teacher” program: “This resource is beneficial to our own channel needs and is reflective of the open and resource-sharing nature of the Linux community. We welcome Novell’s initiative in this regard as it will be an excellent tool in promoting open-source education.”
Commenting on the new, top-level LPIC certification, Novell’s VP of Training Services, Dan Veitkus, stated, “Novell has always supported LPI’s dedication to the development of Linux professionals. We believe in offering our customers and partners the best set of choices for raising their Linux IQ, and we’re in full support of LPIC-3 as the next step for Novell’s Linux Certified professionals. LPIC-3 specifically targets the needs of large enterprise, IT professionals and IT consultancies that require a broad architect level professional credential.”