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IBM has added Arrow and Avnet, two of the industry’s largest value-added distributors, to its roster of IBM Global Training Providers. Both distributors demonstrated the requirements for delivering quality IT training capabilities globally. They will provide their reseller partners and end users with access to IBM IT technical resources for advanced technologies, including mobile, cloud, analytics and social business.

Arrow’s IT training group, Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) Education, is one of IBM’s largest training providers. The distributor said it has been working with IBM to “test elements of the new model in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Nordics.”

Over the next 12 months, Arrow ECS Education will implement its IBM Global Training program in up to 130 countries. The program is expected to be available in 10 countries initially, followed by 50 more by the end of 2013. The program will be rolled out to the remaining countries by next summer.

“This initiative that we have tested with IBM in Europe provided a great opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities to deliver high-quality IT skills training,” Laurent Sadoun, president of Arrow ECS in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and head of Arrow’s worldwide services for the ECS segment, said in a statement.

“We will now support IBM’s new partner-led model through innovative training solutions and a global team of training experts to help increase IBM education and adoption of the IBM software and systems portfolio in the global marketplace. It will also deliver to our partners an outstanding degree of visibility on their customer projects, bringing many cross-selling and up-selling opportunities,” Sadoun said.

Avnet Technology Solutions is another of IBM’s largest global partners. Under the training program partnership, the global distributor will offer its reseller partners, as well as end users, training programs to build their technical competency around the IBM portfolio.

The centers supporting this global training program will roll out in two phases, starting with Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the United States. Phase two will include the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

“Serving as an IBM Global Training Provider advances our long-term strategic goals by enhancing our IBM portfolio and expertise,” Phil Gallagher, global president, Avnet Technology Solutions, said in a statement. “Being recognized as a trusted training provider by one of the leaders in IT on such a global scale allows us to further expand our value-added services offerings, especially following our recent launch of Avnet Services. More importantly, it helps drive education to enable our partners and resellers to grow and to better address end customers’ business challenges.”

Avnet offers more than 2,500 IBM training courses globally to IBM employees, reseller partners and customers—both directly and through its global network of IBM Training Partners.

Gina Roos, a Channel Insider contributing writer, specializes in technology and the channel.