CA Technologies Offers Education to Help Solve Mainframe Workforce Challenges

Mainframe Academy and Internal Training Programs Help Prepare New Staff to Manage Mainframe Environment

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May 18, 2011, 09:00 ET

ISLANDIA, N.Y., May 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CA Technologies (Nasdaq: CA) today announced that core programming skills training offered through its Mainframe Academy and Mainframe Associate Software Engineering Program (MASEP) help IT organizations and employees meet workforce needs and proactively address sustainability challenges.

"The success of IBM's zEnterprise, is further proof that our customers view the mainframe as an essential part of their IT environments, as a cornerstone of their corporate IT strategies, and as a reliable and secure enabler of cloud service delivery," said Dayton Semerjian, general manager, Mainframe, CA Technologies. "Our goal is to help businesses use the mainframe to maximum advantage by arming IT workers with the knowledge needed to effectively manage this platform now and in the future."

All of the students completing the first CA Technologies at Mainframe Academy met course certification criteria and Danish system integrator KMD praised the program for helping its novice staff master mainframe skills. The vendor-agnostic program is designed to help cross-train existing staff or quickly bring new hires up-to-speed in an accelerated hybrid classroom environment that combines instructor-led, web-based and self-paced learning.

"Given the key role the mainframe plays in data centers at many Fortune 500 companies, it is important for IT organizations to succeed in their workforce sustainability initiatives," said Mike Chuba, vice president, research for Gartner.

In addition, CA Technologies is working closely with many companies on private courses, with the goal of providing customized learning to address their existing in-house training requirements.

MASEP — an internal program for new hires which is entering its third year — has helped CA Technologies Mainframe IT team meet current demands by empowering new programmers to hit the ground running and plan for future needs as current experts retire. The success of MASEP, which also includes mentoring graduates, prompted the creation of the Mainframe Academy program to extend the same benefits to customers.

The goal of the Mainframe Academy and MASEP is to certify graduates in the mastery of mainframe skills across hardware, applications and environments.

"The MASEP training was extremely useful. After only 8 weeks, I was better equipped to contribute even more value to my organization," said Marlaina Chirdon, software engineer, CA Technologies. "During the first six months following the training, the knowledge I gained in the program enabled me to create debugging tools, implement design enhancements and code a marquee feature for our next release."

To further support its mainframe workforce education efforts, CA Technologies recently announced at SHARE Anaheim a $1 Million Mainframe Academy scholarship* program to be awarded to individuals who demonstrate a desire to master mainframe programming skills. Applications are now being accepted on the Mainframe Scholarship program website. The first recipient will be announced at SHARE Orlando in August.

*Scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $35,000.00 USD per winner and are payable solely as a credit for publically scheduled Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies education courses; scholarships will not be paid in cash or subject to refund, in whole or part. Scholarship credits must be used within 12-months from the award date. Application submission requirements and rules apply. Applicants are obligated to ensure that they are eligible to apply for or accept the potential scholarship award consistent with the applicable rules of their employer, including without limitation, a code of conduct or similar conduct policies. This Scholarship offer may not be available to any employee or official of any governmental or quasi-governmental entity. Mainframe with CA Technologies education courses and training is subject to standard CA terms and conditions.

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About CA Technologies

CA Technologies (Nasdaq: CA) is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments – from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies' innovative products and services provide the insight and control essential for IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 relies on CA Technologies to manage evolving IT ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at www.ca.com.

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SOURCE CA Technologies