IBM Offers Free Online IT Courses
A lot of people make the "caveat emptor" face when they hear about this or that online learning opportunity that has a price tag of zero dollars and zero cents. And there should definitely be some due diligence involved when the individual or company making the offer has little or no extant reputation for providing such training. On the other hand, it's generally perfectly safe to rely on the validity of such opportunities when presented by the likes of Microsoft, Google, or, in this particular case, IBM. IBM has tooted its own "free learning" horn before, but in case you weren't paying attention the last time that we touched on this topic, Big Blue maintains an online library of IT skills and knowledge training courses that you can take free of charge. The IBM Training and Skills Blog mentioned it again this week, so we thought we'd circle back as well.
AWS Says Cloud Training a Priority to Keep Staff Contented
Speaking of reputable online IT training providers, a new post to the AWS Training and Certification Blog highlights the fast-growing importance to modern businesses of having staff with knowledge of cloud computing. Not only are cloud skills in demand, but helping employees to acquire them has benefits beyond just having workers with new and mission-critical skills. Blogger Maureen Lonergan, vice president of training and certification for AWS, writes that providing cloud computing training opportunities to staff can be a key factor in retaining workers who might otherwise look elsewhere. She has numbers, too, based on AWS's own experience with providing training and certification to companies and individuals. For example, "(I)ndividuals whose employers always fund their AWS Certification exam fees are 4.4 times more likely to be 'very satisfied' with their employer, and 87 percent are less likely to seek employment elsewhere."
CompTIA Challenge You to Join a Community in 2022
Tech industry association CompTIA wants you ... to join both its small-C global "community," and one its formal organized CompTIA Community IT industry peer groups. A new post to the official CompTIA blog by chief community officer MJ Shoer spotlights the benefits of belonging to a CompTIA Community. Shoer isn't just talking about getting help with certification training, or making personal and professional connections at a tech industry conference, either – although he is talking about those things, too. How about not just changing your IT career, but changing the world? CompTIA communities, Shoer writes, can help both individuals and organization unlock their "potential to change the world. Yes, change the world. I believe that in my very core." You head the man. What are you waiting for?
ISACA Members Explore Government Policy on Use of Force in Cyberspace
Since by all indications there's about to be an active war in Europe that could well have global repercussions, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on a recent post to the ISACA Now Blog of cybersecurity and IT governance professional association ISACA. In the modern world, Russia's cyberattack capability is nearly as alarming as its more conventional warfare capability. Two of the authors of a recent ISACA Journal article have taken to the blog to highlight their discussion of what the United States and its policy on the "use of force in cyberspace." In a wired world, there's a compelling case to be made that defending digital frontiers and borders is at least as important as defending physical frontiers and borders.
Get a Jump on Digital Forensics with Free Online Learning Resources
We'll close out this week's Certification Watch with a nod to a new feature that just appeared over at CertMag.com, the official website of Certification Magazine. The double-bylined article discusses a topic that we love to follow around here (just scan back up to the top of this page): free online learning. Authors Steve Linthicum and Helena Trukki are focused on the cybersecurity subsector of digital forensics, or investigating crimes committed using computers and information technology. It turns out that if you have your eye on a career in digital forensics, then you can learn and practice using a wide range of web-based courses and tools. Not only that, but the resources discussed in the article won't cost you a nickel. Awesome!
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
