UKFast
Manchester, United Kingdom
#1
Most LPI-certified staff in the UK
~50
Apprentices in training at any time
8
Partner schools
The Challenge
UKFast, a Manchester-based hosting provider, struggled to hire qualified Linux professionals. 87% of UK employers reported the same difficulty. The organization needed a repeatable way to grow Linux skills internally, both for its apprenticeship program and for its community outreach work.
The Solution
UKFast adopted NDG Linux Essentials, Linux I, and Linux II, a vendor-neutral curriculum aligned to LPI certifications, delivered through Cisco Networking Academy. The integrated lab environments let apprentices with no prior Linux experience practice real commands as they read the coursebook, building the muscle memory the certification exams test for.
"It was a no-brainer to incorporate NDG's Linux courses as a core part of our curriculum. Having the labs in the NDG courses makes our task a lot easier."
- Aaron Saxton
The Results
UKFast now has the most LPI-certified employees of any organization in the UK. The organization trains roughly 50 apprentices at a time and serves as an LPI exam center. The same NDG curriculum is used in UKFast's partnership with the Manchester Dean Trust (8 schools) to launch a digital-literacy high school, and in free Linux training UKFast offers to community coding clubs.