Red Hat Launches Premium Training Subscription

Once upon a time, the only subscription that most people worried about was an arrangement for something like daily newspaper service, or once-a-week milk delivery. Sometimes you'd sign up for a record company's music club, probably just to get the 11 CDs for a dollar — or whatever the deal of the moment happened to be.

We may not have flying cars in the present, but one "technology" that has definitely taken bold, visionary strides is the "subscription" model of providing goods and services. In 2021, you can subscribe to everything from clean underwear to new toothbrushes. With the right amount of disposable income, you don't even have to shop at the grocery story anymore.

The IT certification universe hasn't let the subscription trend pass by unnoticed: It's become increasingly popular over the past several years for certification programs and IT training providers alike to offer subscriptions that exam candidates can use to prepare for a certification exam. Instead of buying a book, or attending a boot camp, the learner can generally peruse a menu of web-based, on-demand training media.

Instead of incurring a one-time fixed cost, an exam candidate can begin a subscription and use the training material for as long as he or she need it. Once the candidate is ready for the exam, he or she can cancel the subscription — which is generally payable in either monthly or yearly installments — and start it up again later if needed.

Red Hat, the leading open source technology provider (and a subsidiary of IBM), has offered a Learning Subscription service for the past couple of years. And starting this month, Red Had is upping the ante with the launch of the new-and-improved better-than-ever Red Hat Learning Subscription Premium.

According to a Red Hat press release announcing the changes, studies have shown that Red Hat training is directly beneficial to IT professionals. Those who begin work after receiving Red Hat training get to "full productivity" more than 75 percent faster than peers who lack the benefit of training.

Among other features, the new Learning Subscription Premium will provide access to live virtual classes taught by Red Hat-certified instructors, flexible scheduling, focused training sessions, and up-to-the second course content revised to align with product releases, product updates, and emerging technologies.

Red Hat certification exams are 100 percent performance-based, so it's important to forge a deep understanding of Red Hat technology before attempting an exam. The new premium subscription tier is a strong step toward helping exam candidates master Red Hat technologies and tools.

Ken Goetz, Red Hat's VP of Training and Certification, said in the aforementioned press release that pandemic-driven changes to the IT training landscape forced Red Hat to up its game. "Our customers expect flexible learning options," Goetz said, "that align to the new normal of working from anywhere and learning in the flow of work.

"With the Red Hat Learning Subscription Premium, we're providing users with a modernized, flexible experience that allows our customers to fill critical skill gaps quickly and effectively so they can accelerate their IT transformation efforts."

Red Hat has provided open source training for more than two decades, so there's a wealth of experience behind the new subscription offering. Additional information about subscriptions, including pricing details and information about a free trial period, is available online.