diff --git a/nodepool/elements/jenkins-slave/install.d/20-jenkins-slave b/nodepool/elements/jenkins-slave/install.d/20-jenkins-slave
index 13f4296bd0..7060936bc7 100755
--- a/nodepool/elements/jenkins-slave/install.d/20-jenkins-slave
+++ b/nodepool/elements/jenkins-slave/install.d/20-jenkins-slave
@@ -15,9 +15,15 @@ useradd -g jenkins -m jenkins -s /bin/bash
 # a lot of caching happens in extra-data.d (for "historical" reasons).
 # We've put the cache stuff into /opt/cache/files, but again, for
 # "historical" reasons, ensure this is available in /home/jenkins
-mkdir -p /home/jenkins/cache
-ln -sf /opt/cache/files /home/jenkins/cache/files
-chown -R jenkins:jenkins /opt/cache/files
+#
+# Check if the cache exists as we don't have a strict dependency on the
+# devstack-cache element. This allows you to build an image without
+# incurring the cost of caching all the things.
+if [ -d /opt/cache/files ] ; then
+    mkdir -p /home/jenkins/cache
+    ln -sf /opt/cache/files /home/jenkins/cache/files
+    chown -R jenkins:jenkins /opt/cache/files
+fi
 
 # this was copied from outside the chroot by extras.d
 _pub_key=/tmp/in_target.d/jenkins-user-ssh-public-key