Canonical announced an independent Ubuntu Certified Professional certification for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, announced that they will provide a completely independent Ubuntu Professional Certification for junior-level system-admins. The e-learning course for preparation for the certification will be available soon after the release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx.

Although Canonical was providing a professional certificate earlier but it was attached with the LPI's (Linux Professional Institute) LPIC-1 programme. So, in order to get the certification students were required to clear both LPIC-1 and Canonical's exams. But due to an increasing demand for an "Ubuntu only" certification programme, Canonical has introduced this new certification.

As Billy Cina, Director of Training at Canonical says,

"We are really excited to support the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS release with a fresh course and certification programme. Having delivered hundreds of courses over the last four years, we listened to the requests from training partners and students for more Ubuntu-specific content. We have responded and are confident that the change will benefit students globally. This will also enable us to move from a multiple-choice- to a 'Live labs'-type exam which is entirely web-based, testing students' ability and Ubuntu skills far more effectively."

This course is designed for junior sys-admins to help them install Ubuntu into an office environment. The company thinks that with the release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, the wide acceptibility of Ubuntu in business environments will increase and hence they needed such an "Ubuntu-only" training program. This program doesn't restrict the student to have any previous Linux experience but some IT/system administration experience is a must.

The exact prices for the certification haven't been decided yet but they are expected to be around $300-$350.