Where teams start
Most Popular Kubernetes Certifications
Most teams assign Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) first. It builds a shared baseline in cluster installation, RBAC, networking, upgrades, and troubleshooting, and the CKS course expects that foundation before security work begins.
Certified Kubernetes Administrator
This Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) training takes systems administrators from cluster setup through scaling, security, and troubleshooting. Taught with real-world examples, it covers installing and configuring Kubernetes clusters for high availability, deploying and scaling workloads with ReplicaSets, Deployments, and autoscalers, securing clusters with RBAC, Pod Security, and access control, managing storage and networking with EBS, ClusterIP, Ingress, and network policies, and monitoring and debugging workloads with probes, the metrics server, and debugging tools, including on AWS EKS. For an IT Director whose platform team runs containerized applications, the CKA is the recognized way to confirm that administrators can keep the application lifecycle reliable and efficient. Individual administrators earn the same Linux Foundation certification.
Trevor Sullivan
CKAD
This intermediate-level Linux Foundation CKAD training covers the objectives in the CKAD exam, which is the one required exam to earn the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification. Use this CKAD exam prep to get certified, and validate your ability to design, build, configure, and expose cloud native applications for Kubernetes.
Trevor Sullivan
Kubernetes Security Specialist
This intermediate Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) training prepares DevOps professionals to take the CKS exam, which is the one exam needed to learn the Kubernetes Security Specialist certification. After finishing this Kubernetes training, you'll know how to minimize microservice vulnerabilities and set up and harden Kubernetes clusters.
Trevor Sullivan
Recently added
Newest Releases
The latest Kubernetes training added to the catalog — new courses land here within a day of publication.
Discipline crossover
Kubernetes Training by Path
Where Kubernetes training overlaps the disciplines your team hires for — each path page shows the full picture.
Frequently asked questions about Kubernetes training
Common questions IT directors ask when evaluating Kubernetes training for their team.
Which roles on an IT team are these Kubernetes courses built for?
CKA fits systems administrators, platform engineers, and DevOps professionals with about a year of orchestration experience. CKAD suits application developers working alongside DevOps, and DevOps engineers with about six months of experience. CKS is built for DevOps and platform teams with three to five years of DevOps experience.
Which Kubernetes certifications do these courses prepare a team for?
The three courses prepare learners for Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), and Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS). CBT Nuggets prepares the learner, and the certifying body issues the certification.
How should a Training Manager sequence Kubernetes training across a team?
Start platform owners and admins on CKA for cluster operations, and assign CKAD to developers and DevOps engineers who ship applications to Kubernetes. Move experienced platform staff to CKS once they have the CKA foundation, since the CKS course recommends completing CKA first.
How much time should we plan per learner?
Plan for about 47 hours across 46 skills for CKAD and about 27 hours across 29 skills for CKS. CKA time varies by learner experience, so many teams schedule it in short, recurring blocks alongside normal operations work.
Do the courses include hands-on practice?
Yes. CKA gives teams a hands-on baseline for self-managed and cloud-hosted clusters, including upgrades and maintenance on AWS EKS, and CKAD starts by building a practice cluster. The platform also offers virtual labs, practice exams, and pre- and post-assessments.
How can we track progress and show completion for audits?
Team reporting shows per-learner progress and completion, cohort and group views, and completion exports you can use as audit evidence. That gives IT Directors one place to confirm who has finished cluster administration, application delivery, or security hardening training.