IBM lifts lid on latest bid to halt mainframe skill slips
- Reference: 1709904373
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/03/08/ibm_mainframe_skill/
- Source link:
Big Blue revealed the Mainframe Skills Council at the [1]SHARE conference in Orlando, Florida this week, describing it as a forum to bring together organizations with an interest in sustaining a skilled workforce for the mainframe platform.
This can include clients, industry partners, academia, user groups, and pretty much anyone interested in mainframe skills development, IBM explained.
[2]
Among the forum's initial members, IBM lists Broadcom, the Academic Mainframe Consortium, Albany State University, DNB Bank, HoGent University, M&T Bank, Northern Illinois University, Rocket Software, SHARE, and 21CS software.
[3]
[4]
Broadcom may have recently [5]acquired virtualization outfit VMware, but it previously assimilated [6]Computer Associates – a key player in the mainframe software market.
"The mainframe community has been working to close the mainframe generational skills gap and we've seen substantial progress," IBM's VP for the Z Ecosystem, Meredith Stowell, claimed.
Demand remains
As perhaps the most prominent mainframe provider, IBM has a vested interest in keeping this ecosystem alive. The problem is that while mainframes are still quietly humming away running mission-critical workloads in industries such as banking, manufacturing and airlines, the workforce is aging.
By some estimates, about 60 percent of mainframe specialists are over the age of 50, and many are approaching retirement. Big iron has an image problem, and is seen as old and fusty compared with newer trends like cloud-native development and AI – so drawing younger staff to replace the veterans is viewed as a challenge.
[7]
The demand is there, according to IBM, which points to a survey from the Futurum Group indicating that 32 percent of organizations with a mainframe hired 11–20 mainframe related roles last year, while 35 percent filled more than 20 positions. Of those surveyed, 91 percent said they plan to invest in mainframe IT teams and hire for new positions over the next one or two years.
[8]The rise and fall of the standard user interface
[9]IBM's vintage Db2 database jumps on AWS's cloud bandwagon
[10]IBM sues Micro Focus, claims it copied Big Blue mainframe software
[11]It would take a 'catastrophic' recession to stop tech spend growth, says IBM boss
IBM explained that the [12]Mainframe Skills Council will implement working groups focused on career awareness, competency frameworks, learning paths and professional development. It will allow members to share training tools and related resources to develop mainframe skills.
"The Mainframe Skills Council represents an exciting opportunity to build on these advancements and ignite the community to share experiences and create mainframe talent that can grow with the platform," Stowell enthused.
Big Blue has also introduced the [13]IBM Z Mainframe Skills Depot – an online training resource with more than a thousand hours of self-paced learning material. Students can choose from specialized tracks tailored to roles such as System Administrator, Application Developer, or Modernization Architect.
Futurum Group VP & practice leader Steven Dickens said some younger professionals are entering the mainframe workforce, and the Skills Council could help the mainframe vendor community come together, harmonize efforts, and focus their resources on improving recruitment.
[14]
"Based on our research, the skills dynamic around the mainframe is evolving, proving that the concerted efforts from vendors such as Broadcom with its Vitality Program are starting to take hold," Dickens told The Register . However, others were more skeptical.
"IBM has had formal programs to develop the next generation of mainframe talent going back to at least 2003 when it introduced what was referred to back then as the Mainframe Charter," recalled Gartner managing VP Mike Chuba.
"This Skills Council looks to add one more arrow to the quiver of initiatives IBM has taken to bring to this market more younger professionals with mainframe skills and interest in working on the mainframe," he added.
Hands up if you want to volunteer for layoffs, IBM tells staff [15]MEANWHILE …
Chuba conceded that IBM has had some modest success in some territories, and there seem to be more students coming in now than when IBM first started focusing on this issue 20 years ago.
"But I don't know that we are at the point where we can say there is an adequate amount of talent coming in to completely offset those folks exiting the workforce," he stated.
Omdia chief analyst Roy Illsley was skeptical that IBM's initiatives would solve the problem. He told us the skills issue might be fixed through the use of AI, making the tools and processes easier to adopt, and meaning the deep expertise is restricted to only a couple of people in an organization.
All of this applies largely to IBM mainframes, of course. The other remaining mainframe giant, Fujitsu, has previously signaled [16]the end of the line for its big iron.
The Japanese tech titan will cease manufacturing and selling mainframe systems by 2030, while support services will continue for another five years. Customers are expected to migrate applications to the cloud. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.share.org/Events/SHARE-Orlando-2024
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZetEOGT@GgReI3ybYSZ-ZAAAAU4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZetEOGT@GgReI3ybYSZ-ZAAAAU4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZetEOGT@GgReI3ybYSZ-ZAAAAU4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/23/broadcom_vmware_reorg/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/12/broadcom_ca_technologies/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZetEOGT@GgReI3ybYSZ-ZAAAAU4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/rise_and_fall_of_cua/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/29/aws_launch_ibms_db2_database/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/22/ibm_sues_micro_focus_for/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/18/tech_spending/
[12] https://community.ibm.com/zsystems/mainframe-skills-council/
[13] https://www.ibm.com/z/resources/mainframe-skills
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZetEOGT@GgReI3ybYSZ-ZAAAAU4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/29/ibm_launches_voluntary_redundancy_scheme/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/25/fujitsu_signposts_the_end_for/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
RE: Mainframe Skills Council
It is highly apparent that, by the necessity of IBM creating the MSC in the first place...
that IBM's management is INCOMPETENT.
During the past number of years IBM has pretty much concentrated its effort in retiring / removing older, skilled workers - remember the "dinobabies" comment? But *now* they realize that the workforce with the required skillset is aging and they must train-up replacements.
If your management *wasn't* incompetent you should have realized that the older workers held decades of accumulated knowledge and created an in-house apprenticeship for the Big Iron workforce, getting those new(er) recruits up to speed with hands-on experience in association with your experienced techs. THEN, after they are trained-up, you consider asking *some* the techs if they would like early retirement, making sure you keep enough of the Old Guard on-hand to assist the newer techs as they, themselves, age into the SuperTechs you need to keep your Big Iron going indefinitely.
But you didn't do that, did you??!! You started pushing your skilled techs out BEFORE YOU REPLACED THEM, YOU IDIOTS.
This is the kind of incompetence that, frankly, should be brought up in stockholder meetings, questioning "Why are we allowing 'managers' to keep their jobs when they apparently can't make wise, foreseeable business decisions?". But I'm sure that won't happen: the mutual funds that hold the greatest sway in stock shares will keep their mouths shut as long as IBM's said management keeps making promises, even if they never actually meet those promises, of quarterly dividends.
And nothing in End-stage Capitalism ever gets fixed .
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Stupidity. You're gonna like it here.
Re: RE: Mainframe Skills Council
It is quite ironic, isn't it.
The company that's main in the news for laying off staff, at least here, is pursuing an initiative to retain a specific workforce.
Maybe the managers simply don't know the product. Maybe they aren't aware that it's the old iron that earns significant bucks for the company, while they all are using only the cloudy stuff. Or maybe they're just plain incompetent. Apply Hanlon's, Ockham's or any other razors at will.
Re: RE: Mainframe Skills Council
" You started pushing your skilled techs out BEFORE YOU REPLACED THEM "
The concept is that "technology moves really fast" so if it's more than a couple of years old it's "legacy" and irrelevant. Consequently, skills are considered to need constant "updating" (which is quite possibly why, incidentally, software needs constant updating). There are no such things as first principles or theory -- it's all about hands on practice. Funnily enough, this mindset was what primarily destroyed the Soviet industrial base. They sacked (or in that case shot) practically all the experienced engineers and managers and replaced them with others who had zero experience.
Re: RE: Mainframe Skills Council
"...questioning "Why are we allowing 'managers' to keep their jobs when they apparently can't make wise, foreseeable business decisions?""
To be fair, most managers have zero power, influence, budget or freedom to make decisions of any scope. Executives are the ones with the power, and even then not all are created equal; you have to go pretty high to find somebody who can make strategic decisions versus day-to-day.
Encourage z/OS and z/VM on Hercules
IBM could drop their opposition to using z/OS and z/VM on the fabulous Hercules emulator. This would encourage people to tinker with the OSs and get some interest from people who might never otherwise encounter them.
Ironic
This coming from a company that has demonstrated its disdain for employee's who are over 50.
Perhaps that's why they want to recruit more younger people. On the other hand, if companies valued their over 50's workforce they might stick around for a bit longer.
Re: Ironic
" if companies valued their over 50's workforce they might stick around for a bit longer "
but unfortunately, they cost more per capita than new youngsters, particularly if they've been on the staff for any significant time (accrued pensions etc.). As everyone is now merely a "human resource", related overheads "must be minimised".
Re: Ironic
It's also not a good look for younger employees. Why would you invest years in learning certain skill and then you'll be binned at 50. If you don't find alternative job in the field after that, then it is potentially 10 or so years wasted where you will not be having income you should be having.
So if you look at your career and think ok I learn this and I will be pulling at least middle six figures since I am 30 through 40 and 50. If 10 years can potentially fall off the plan then you have to adjust your lifetime earning and then you may realise the offer becomes not viable.
You may find you may be better off doing some less demanding and less paid job and have more time for family and hobbies.
Re: falling off the plan
Bingo. My mother wanted / expected me to work for IBM after school but I didn't want to get involved with a mega-corp and end up being just a number.
Turns out I was right -_- I'm in my late-50's and would probably be on the street if I went the IBM path. Sure, sure, I would have earned big bucks for a while, but only through high stress, constant expectation of continued learning (usually on my own dime), and the bullshiate of megacorp office politics.
No thank you.
I poked around IBM a while back to see if they were hiring here. They were, but only “contractors with 20+ years of experience”…
As if that’s going to be sustainable.
Of course, that dev site’s mostly closed, so maybe they were just planning ahead.
Delusional
If you go to that site [1]IBM Z Mainframe Skills Depot
and then as a prospective future Mainframe magician you want to see "what's in it for me?" and go to Benefits section you can see that there is sweet f-work nothing.
If they want to attract people into this, they should state if after completing the training person will be:
- hired once passed competency test
- able to afford a house with a garage and garden within a year and close to place of work and comfortable living
- getting stocks
- additional training
- getting generous severance package if company decides to bin the project
Without that, why would you invest your time into it?
[1] https://www.ibm.com/z/resources/mainframe-skills
"halt mainframe skill slips"
Just a suggestion : maybe stop firing the people who have acquired the skills ?
Benefits of working for IBM
* monthly RA's (Resource Actions aka redundancies)
* yearly PIP (Performance Improvement Plan)
* always working in the office
* moving office location every 6 months
* lots of unpaid overtime
* world leading bureaucracy & red tape
* training your replacement in a low wage country
* seeing Ginny's helicopter (no touching)
Re: Benefits of working for IBM
* monthly RA's (Resource Actions aka redundancies)
Yearly
* yearly PIP (Performance Improvement Plan)
Not a regular thing, it might hit you once if you're a fuckup. And you're generally shitcanned after regardless of the outcome, so 'yearly' is bollocks. You might be thinking of PBC.
* always working in the office
Nope. 3 days/week, only in the US. In Europe, they're trying to get it together but nobody's listening and the law doesn't support them.
* moving office location every 6 months
Nah.
* lots of unpaid overtime
Nah. Only if you're stupid. And in the US.
* world leading bureaucracy & red tape
Ok this one's true.
* training your replacement in a low wage country
Also true.
* seeing Ginny's helicopter (no touching)
Also true, although even with her Rhino-thick skin she knew this was a bad idea the moment she did it.
Where is the demand?
Is this for IBM itself or just an attempt to ward off mainframe abandonment by their customer base? My guess is the latter.
While it has been decades since I wrote any JCL, I have always admired the purity of the batch processing world. The sequencing of steps. The need to know all the files a program would use and describe them. Generational datasets. I remember taking a systems analysis class where the instructor said you were never ready to start writing code until you could define the JCL.
Doesn't really apply in today's interactive, constantly updated world.
Read between the lines
Mainframes are still very much required
BUT WE DONT WANT TO PAY REAL WAGES AS IT CUTS OUR PROFITS
So sack the expert and employee the newbie
Sums up IT in general
If only I were not so ancient...I love mainframes.