Red Education launches vendor-neutral NGFW training for junior cyber talent

Red Education has introduced Open NGFW, a new foundational firewall course for early-career security professionals. The program starts October 2 in ANZ and ASEAN, then rolls out across SAARC, the Americas and EMEA through October.

Why it matters: - Open NGFW is aimed at closing the gap between entry-level cybersecurity knowledge and the skills needed in production firewall environments. - The course is designed for junior and aspiring network or security engineers, systems administrators moving into cybersecurity, and other early-career professionals. - Red Education is using the new program to prepare learners for later vendor-specific training with stronger foundational skills.

What happened: - Red Education launched Open NGFW: Next-Generation Firewall Foundational Training, a vendor-neutral course for people early in their network and security careers. - The program is the first offering in Red Education’s FASTTRACK Foundational Training catalogue. - The launch starts on October 2 in ANZ and ASEAN. - Additional rollouts follow across SAARC, the Americas and EMEA during October.

The details: - Open NGFW requires no prior firewall experience. - Learners train in individual lab environments. - Each learner receives a firewall that has been deliberately broken and must diagnose the issue using logs and a structured troubleshooting method. - The course is built around the “Build it. Break it. Fix it.” approach. - The program includes two live 2-hour sessions on the same day. - Learners get seven days of dedicated lab access after the live sessions. - The course includes a verified Credly digital badge that learners can use on LinkedIn and other platforms. - Red Education says the training expands its portfolio beyond vendor-authorized programs. - View Open NGFW course details and schedules.

Between the lines: - Red Education is betting that junior staff become more productive faster when they enter vendor training with basic troubleshooting and firewall concepts already in place. - The company is also positioning the course as a way to reduce the time senior technical staff spend mentoring new hires. - The move suggests growing demand for vendor-neutral cyber training that sits before platform-specific certification tracks.

What's next: - Red Education will begin the first Open NGFW sessions on October 2 in ANZ and ASEAN. - The company plans to extend the launch across SAARC, the Americas and EMEA later in October. - Learners completing the course will be able to use the Credly badge as proof of training.