Re: Training

[Patrick Shrader <pshrader@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>How many companies out there that use the AS/400 are actually training
>people up. ie taking people on as trainee operators and teching them
>everything, taking operators and training them up as programmers in RPG
>or other languages.

At my company, we have 7 programmers on staff and all but two have been
home grown over the past six years. Additionally, we have hired two PC
people that we have trained ourselves. We find college students who are
hungry to learn everything they possibly can and begin an apprentice
program with them for about six months, starting as operators while they
finish school. The new employees come in at a lower-than-average salary,
but raises are LARGE and OFTEN as the employee's skills improve. Turnover
is very low and dedication is high. All of these young programmers have
been in charge of their own projects within two years of their hire date,
and two are area managers. All of our software is home grown throughout our
organization, and we support almost 90 remote sites. Classes, good contact
with other companies, along with trade shows, users groups, this list,
etc., help breathe new life and outside influences into the department,
keeping it from becoming stagnant (the "telphone-pole family tree" senerio).

In this rural area, we found that it is faster to hire and train employees
than trying to lure higher priced trained talent from the metro areas. We
were able to fully transform a student into an extremely competant
programer faster than another area company was able to recruit an
experienced programmer.

Just my thoughts.



------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Shrader 
pshrader@foodcity.com
Systems Analyst
K-VA-T Food Stores/Food City

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