IBM Mainframe Skills Council brings the global community together to grow mainframe talent

The
global
economy
runs
on
transactions,
and
70%
of
transactions
by
value
run
through
an
IBM
Z®
mainframe.
Many
of
the
world’s
largest
enterprises
rely
on
IBM
Z
to
support
their
core
business,
and
by
a
process
of
continued
innovation,
IBM
Z
brings
industry-first
technologies
to
our
clients
with
each
new
generation.
Modern
mainframe
skills
are
critical
as
businesses
implement
AI,
modernize
their
applications,
integrate
across
the
enterprise
and
continue
digital
transformation.

These
skills
are
essential
to
the
future
of
the
platform,
whether
we
are
training
new
talent,
deepening
the
skills
of
our
existing
community
or
introducing
new
technology
and
capabilities
to
the
platform. 

A
forum
to
build
the
skills
of
the
future

IBM®,
Broadcom
and
21CS
recently
commissioned
The
Futurum
Group
to
survey
businesses,
university
leaders and
students
on
trends
across
the
mainframe
landscape.
The
survey
covered
several
topics, including
but
not
limited
to
talent
acquisition,
curriculum
and
development
skills
offerings,
as
well
as
priority
areas
of
focus
for
students
studying
mainframe.

The
Futurum
Group
found
that
60%
of
organizations
surveyed
indicated
they
work
closely
with
industry
vendors
that
offer
bootcamps,
trainings
or
apprenticeship
programs
to
connect
with
skilled
applicants.
They
also
found
a
healthy
pipeline
of
demand
for
talent, with
91%
of
the
organizations
surveyed
indicating
they
anticipate
hiring
mainframe
system
administrators
or
mainframe
application
developers
over
the
next
1
to
2
years.
The
full
report,

2024
Global
Mainframe
Skills
Report:
Insights
from
Industry
and
Educational
Experts
will
be
released
on
6
May
2024.

Mainframe
Skills
Council

To
bring
the
broader
global
community
together
to
continue
to
build
skills,
IBM
announced
the
launch
of
the Mainframe
Skills
Council.
This
council
will
provide
a
forum
where
global
organizations
work
together,
creating
an
exciting
opportunity
to
unite
the
community,
share
experiences and
collaboratively
implement
solutions
to
build
a
strong
global
workforce
for
the
mainframe
platform.

Members
include
representatives
from
IBM
clients,
IBM
partners,
academia,
user
groups,
nonprofits
and
open
communities.

The
council
framework
will
include
working
groups
that
are
focused
on
career
awareness,
role-based
competency
frameworks,
learning
paths
and
ongoing
talent
growth.
This
council
builds
upon
the
many IBM
mainframe
skills
programs
already
in
place.

Accessible
learning
is
a
cornerstone
of
the
IBM
approach

In
addition
to
traditional
academic
curriculum,
IBM
also
turned
to
nontraditional
paths
beyond
the
classic
classroom
to
inspire,
connect,
train
and
grow
new
mainframe
talent. These
programs
include:

• 
  
  IBM
  Z
  Student
  Ambassadors: At
  close
  to
  100
  universities,
  these
  on-campus
  ambassadors
  inspire
  students
  by
  hosting
  events
  and
  establishing
  and
  leading
  mainframe
  student
  clubs.
• 
  
  IBM
  
  
  Z
  Career
  Connection
  Events:These
  events
  bring
  employers
  and
  students
  together.
  The
  IBM
  Z
  Xplore
  learning
  experience
  is
  introduced
  to
  encourage
  students
  to
  earn
  digital
  credentials
  and
  pursue
  a
  mainframe
  career.
• 
  
  IBM
  Z
  Virtual
  Career
  Fairs: These
  events
  connect
  badged
  mainframe
  talent
  with
  employers.
  In
  fact,
  IBM
  is
  sponsoring
  Virtual
  Career
  Fairs
  around
  the
  globe
  throughout
  April
  and
  May.
• 
  
  Mainframe
  Skills
  Depot: This
  new
  comprehensive
  platform
  offers
  over
  1,000
  hours
  of
  hands-on,
  self-paced
  mainframe
  training
  courses
  organized
  by
  job
  roles.
  Whether
  you
  are
  new
  to
  system
  administration
  or
  app
  development
  or
  you
  want
  to
  deepen
  your
  skills,
  this
  platform
  has
  something
  to
  offer.
  There
  is
  also
  content
  for
  modernization
  architects
  wanting
  to
  explore
  capabilities
  to
  integrate
  and
  modernize
  applications.
• 
  
  IBM
  Z
  Global
  Skills
  Accelerator
  and
  Apprenticeship:
  This
  program is
  available
  to
  mainframe
  employers
  for
  new
  or
  existing
  employees
  and
  is
  a
  holistic
  approach
  to
  build
  skills
  without
  requiring
  employees
  to
  have
  any
  IT
  background
  or
  education. With
  over
  300
  hours
  of
  learning,
  success
  coaching,
  on-the-job
  training
  and
  mentorship,
  this
  program
  enabled
  83
  global
  employers
  to
  skill
  up
  over
  440
  new
  mainframe
  system
  administrators
  and
  application
  developers.

Today,
addressing
mainframe
skills
extends
beyond
education
and
training.
IBM
also
introduced
new
strategies
and
technologies
to
address
the
number
of
specialized
skills
required:

• 
  Simplification.
  We
  are
  constantly
  looking
  to
  simplify
  processes
  across
  the
  hardware
  and
  software
  stack
  to
  reduce
  the
  number
  of
  specialized
  activities
  that
  are
  required
  to
  operate
  and
  maintain
  the
  system.
• 
  Standardization.
  
  We
  have
  been
  investing
  in
  adopting
  open
  and
  industry
  standards
  across
  the
  IBM
  Z
  platform.
• 
  AI
  and
  automation.
  We
  are
  working
  to
  leverage
  AI
  to
  automate
  tasks
  that
  currently
  require
  manual
  intervention.
  For
  example,
  we
  are
  starting
  the
  journey
  to
  infuse
  AI
  into
  z/OS®.

IBM’s
mainframe
skills
programs
are
intended
to
provide
an
opportunity
for
everyone—from
beginners
to
experts.
Whether
you
are
looking
to
expand
your
capabilities
or
share
your
knowledge
with
others,
IBM
skills
programs
can
help
our
community
connect
and
succeed.

Inspire,
connect,
train
and
grow
with
IBM
Z
Skills