2021 has seen massive levels of digital transformation activities, particularly around cloud migration. The 2021 Open Source Jobs Report found that cloud computing skills are the most in demand of any technology area, and with 92% of hiring managers having difficulty finding enough talent, those with these skills are highly sought after.
The problem for employers is how to deal with the persistent talent gap when it comes to cloud. It is very difficult for those new to the IT sector to jump straight into cloud technologies, and it is nearly impossible without first gaining an understanding of the infrastructure technologies on which the cloud is built. That’s why Linux Foundation Training & Certification developed the roadmap below which outlines the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue a cloud career.
To start, teams need to understand Linux. Over 90% of public cloud instances are running on Linux, and if your staff aren’t proficient in the Linux command line interface, you won’t get very far moving to the cloud. DevOps skills are also essential. DevOps refers to the combination of development and operations which traditionally were separate in the IT space. The vast majority of organizations today use DevOps practices to deploy to the cloud, so your teams need to understand those practices.
Employers need to realize they cannot hire their way out of this skills shortage, meaning the only sustainable option is to train existing employees, and also consider hiring underqualified individuals and giving them the training necessary to do the job. In addition to learning the fundamentals underpinning the cloud, teams will need to learn about the cloud technologies themselves. 91% of organizations running in the cloud are using Kubernetes, so it’s an ideal technology to focus on.
We offer a number of free courses to help get started:
- Introduction to Linux
- Introduction to DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering
- Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure Technologies
- Introduction to Kubernetes
A good strategy is to have team members complete these free courses first. Those who dedicate themselves to this and show understanding of these concepts can then be prioritized for more advanced training. Linux Foundation Training & Certification and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) offer the Kubernetes and Cloud Native Essentials online training course, which provides an overview of cloud native technologies and how container orchestration systems like Kubernetes can help to implement and maintain them. The course also prepares participants to sit for the Kubernetes & Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification; you can be confident that those who successfully pass this certification are equipped to work in an entry level cloud role.
Of course only having teams trained to handle entry-level cloud issues won’t be sufficient, so consider enrolling the most promising team members in our Cloud Engineer Bootcamp for a more structured learning program, or check out our full array of cloud training and certification offerings. All of these programs can be completed while working full time, so ideally any disruption to work routines will be minimal and temporary.
The Cloud Career Roadmap below provides more insight into the technologies your teams need to be familiar with to be successful in deploying and managing your cloud instance. Get more information on group training and certification opportunities.