At last week's SHARE conference in Atlanta, CA Technologies announced the first five recipients of $35,000 scholarships to its Mainframe Academy, an accelerated educational curriculum that helps promising young technologists expand their skills and fill potential talent gaps in future mainframe management. CA announced the scholarship program last March as part of its workforce education effort, promising over $1 million in grants to attend the Mainframe Academy through 2016. Recipients are selected by SHARE representatives, who award scholarships to applicants that demonstrate a desire to master mainframe programming skills.
"We're helping some of the best young talent get a jump-start on their IT careers," Mark Combs, senior vice president for CA Technologies' Mainframe division, tells 5 Minute Briefing. "Working alongside SHARE's zNextGen program, we're helping to educate the next generation of mainframe professionals and assisting global organizations with ensuring they have the right staff in place to manage the platform for the future."
The recipients include an IBM intern based in the U.S., a systems analyst for BRQ IT in Brazil, a University of Kentucky graduate interning at General Electric, and two system programmers from Garanti Technology in Turkey - all of whom are looking to expand their mainframe knowledge. "Approximately 50 students went through the program in 2011, and this year another 50 students are expected to attend," says Combs.
SHARE works actively with CA to promote and administer the program, says Janet Sun, president of SHARE. "We are pleased to participate in the selection process and to support the growth and development of the next-generation of mainframe talent. This aligns with our zNextGen program and is supported by the research we have done regarding the mainframe skills gap."
The Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies is an eight-week, vendor-agnostic, immersion program that blends instructor-led classroom activity with virtual and self-paced learning designed to provide core skills to manage the mainframe environment. Young IT professionals enrolled in high school, undergraduate and graduate university programs, or recent graduates are eligible for the scholarship. "Classes are a combination of online and in-classroom training," says Combs. "In-classroom training is currently done at CA Technologies education centers around the globe. Courses are taught by CA Technologies instructors."
CA says it will issue three additional scholarships at the SHARE Conference in August. Applications are being accepted through May 31, 2012 at the program website.
"The Mainframe Academy is open to anyone who wishes to advance their mainframe skills," Combs says. "However, for the Mainframe Academy Scholarship, only young IT professionals enrolled in high school, undergraduate and graduate university programs, or recent graduates with less than two years' mainframe experience are eligible for the scholarship."
For more information on CA, go here.
For more information on SHARE, go here.