Gabe, I haven't answers to all questions, but I hope this helps:
- What's new since the z/Journal article ran and what did the article miss? For me, nothing changed. - What's the good and bad news about today's mainframe education? Good news: In the Netherlands education/training is still seen as absolutely necessary to function properly and for the business continuity. Bad news: IBM waits until enough people are interested before they schedule a course ( at least in The Netherlands and Belgium ) Not all people who are interested, make this known to IBM. Some just check if the course is scheduled. So sometimes people have to wait for years to get the course they need because it seems like there are not enough people interested for the provider to schedule the course. E.g. I had to go to Germany to attain a systems programmer course because apparently there was not enough interest in the Netherlands/Belgium. There were 'three' scheduled dates in Germany! E.g.2 Some of my colleagues and even some of another bank have waited for years for IBM to schedule an Assembler course. Finally we have arranged for one of the IBM-MAIN listers to provide the course. - Who's providing it? Who's best at it? I've always had IBM courses, until recently. We arranged for The Trainer's Friend to come to Amsterdam and provide us with some badly needed training. Who's best? All courses have been given by people with a longtime mainframe-experience. The teacher from 'The Trainer's Friend' ( Steve C ) was very funny, but that's not really a requirement for providing students with the required information. It helps though :) - What works? Classroom instruction? Online training? Self-study courses? Books? User groups? Personally I prefer practical training. A laptop attached to a beamer is nice, but still too theoretical. E.g. During the Assembler course I got some S0Cx abends ( ok, a lot S0C7's ). Finding the cause of the error yourself is a million times better than someone creating an abend and then pointing it out on a screen in front of the class. - Do employers pay for it? Yes - Is it a necessity or a golden perk? A necessity for the continuity of the business - Is it safe in the budget or a first thing to get whacked? The need for continuous education is recognized and safe in the budget - How often do employees pay? Never. I can't afford IBM's prices. - Does it keep pace with mainframe evolution? Some courses are based on older versions of z/OS, sometimes even OS/390 -- Maarten Slegtenhorst -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Namens Gabe Goldberg Verzonden: dinsdag 7 oktober 2008 4:46 Aan: IBM-MAIN@BAMA.UA.EDU Onderwerp: Mainframe education/training I'm writing articles for Bob Thomas' two publications, z/Journal and Mainframe Executive, about mainframe education. For z/Journal I'll cover the tactical "state of education union" and for Mainframe Executive I'll discuss strategic/high-level issues. A year or so ago I wrote about education/training from IBM (Academic Initiative) and SHARE (zNextGen project), both of which are positive developments; the article is at <http://www.zjournal.com/index.cfm?section=article&aid=823>. So -- What's new since the z/Journal article ran and what did the article miss? What's the good and bad news about today's mainframe education? Who's providing it? Who's best at it? What's missing? What works? Classroom instruction? Online training? Self-study courses? Books? User groups? Do employers pay for it? Is it a necessity or a golden perk? Is it safe in the budget or a first thing to get whacked? How often do employees pay? Does it keep pace with mainframe evolution? What's happening in local mainframe user groups? What are noteworthy publishing resources for mainframe training/education? Etc. -- don't be limited by these questions. Please reply directly as well as to the list, so I see responses separate from the daily digest. Thanks... -- Gabriel Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc. (703) 204-0433 3401 Silver Maple Place, Falls Church, VA 22042 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ATTENTION: The information in this electronic mail message is private and confidential, and only intended for the addressee. Should you receive this message by mistake, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, reproduction, distribution or use of this message is strictly prohibited. Please inform the sender by reply transmission and delete the message without copying or opening it. Messages and attachments are scanned for all viruses known. If this message contains password-protected attachments, the files have NOT been scanned for viruses by the ING mail domain. 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