one of the guys I work here with - started as a fork-lift driver out of HS
worked way into IT and is still here
Frank Swarbrick
<frank.swarbrick@
EFIRSTBANK.COM> To
Sent by: IBM IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu
Mainframe cc
Discussion List
<ibm-m...@bama.ua Subject
.edu> Re: An upbeat story
06/14/2011 03:08
PM
Please respond to
IBM Mainframe
Discussion List
<ibm-m...@bama.ua
.edu>
The "non-IT" thing is interesting.
At my company we have many application developers that started elsewhere at
the company. Me, for one. I personally had previous IT skills, and some
schooling in programming, but most of the others I believe did not.
Do non-IT people make better COBOL programmers? Why might that be?
Frank
--
Frank Swarbrick
Applications Architect - Mainframe Applications Development
FirstBank Data Corporation - Lakewood, CO USA
P: 303-235-1403
On 6/14/2011 at 11:57 AM, in message
<BANLkTikXG75y4Jx1xijnpJV=3fta4dj...@mail.gmail.com>, Mike Schwab
<mike.a.sch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I know Illinois State University, Normal, IL was doing 3 month full
> time class to create programmers from existing non-IT staff at State
> Farm / Country Companies Insurance companies in the metro area. They
> had completed several sessions last update I got. They had to sign an
> agreeement to work for 1 year or pay back the class costs.
>
> On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 11:06 AM, Steve Comstock
> <st...@trainersfriend.com> wrote:
>> Last week I taught a COBOL class for five days at a
>> small company up in Boulder. They have a refreshing
>> approach that I thought was pretty cool, and I wanted
>> to pass it on.
>>
>> This company (I'll call it 'A') is a subsidiary of a
>> large transportation company ('B'). Although they are
>> small, they run z/OS 1.12, use COBOL 4.2, and so on.
>>
>> * Each Spring for the last two years they go to the local
>> university career day and talk with students about to
>> graduate
>>
>> * Eventually they settle on four to hire
>>
>> * Then, they make their job offer through a contracting
>> company ('C') with the understanding if they work out
>> after a trial period, they will be hired to work
>> directly by 'A'
>>
>> * But what's cool is: a) they only interview students
>> with little or no IS / IT background and b) even
>> though the students will technically be employees of
>> 'C', 'A' arranges to train them
>>
>> The training is done by a mix of in-house people,
>> myself, colleagues, even competitors
>>
>>
>> The result is a small cadre of new employees entering
>> each year, sort of 'raised' in the local IT culture.
>>
>>
>> The new employees are solid and quickly productive, and
>> they have a long lasting loyalty to the company. The
>> current employees are, generally, pleased to see the
>> company expanding the workforce (after all, the new
>> kids are lower on the totem pole, as it were).
>>
>>
>> Although the program is new, it seems to be working very
>> well (I had a chance to talk with some of last year's
>> new hires as well as a few managers).
>>
>> So somebody is hiring for z/OS applications developers.
>> I consider that to be a little good news anyway.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> -Steve Comstock
>> The Trainer's Friend, Inc.
>>
>> 303-393-8716
>> http://www.trainersfriend.com
>>
>> * To get a good Return on your Investment, first make an investment!
>> + Training your people is an excellent investment
>>
>> * Try our new tool for calculating your Return On Investment
>> for training dollars at
>> http://www.trainersfriend.com/ROI/roi.html
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
>> send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
>> Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
>>
>
>
>>>
The information contained in this electronic communication and any document
attached hereto or transmitted herewith is confidential and intended for
the exclusive use of the individual or entity named above. If the reader
of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent
responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any examination, use, dissemination, distribution or copying
of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited. If you
have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the
sender by reply e-mail and destroy this communication. Thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
