The mainframe skill shortage has been well documented in the media . As more and more baby boomers retire, many corporations and government agencies are looking to create mainframe boot camps again.

These training programs are designed to take college graduates or new hires who do not have a technical background and turn them into entry-level mainframe developers or systems support personnel. They were popular in the 70s and 80s when mainframe skills were not being taught in academia or readily available in the job market.

ProTech's Boot Camps include hands-on exercises, mentorship programs and are often tied into apprenticeships or job rotational programs to give the candidates the skills and experience they need to support legacy systems. IBM has taken several steps to help with the shortage including their IBM Academic Initiative but the demand far out-paces the supply.

While several mainframe customers have been proactive in creating either internal programs or working with outside training vendors, many others have been waiting for IBM or the job market to give them the candidates they need.  More still needs to be done.