How Education Can Save Your Company Money
After a tough hit to the economy and job market in 2020, just about every business is looking for ways to save money, create resiliency and improve their business processes. In the IT industry, one of the best ways to do this is to focus on education. New technologies and techniques are always launching with the ability to improve efficiency and support the end-user, and IBM i is no exception.
Whether it’s giving seasoned developers the skills and knowledge to keep up with new technologies and code, or training new developers to understand IBM i processes for application development, education should be at the forefront of your business plan in 2021 and beyond.
Offering training opportunities to your employees is an investment in their professional development, as well as an investment in your company. By keeping your employees up to date on training, you are increasing retention, improving loyalty, increasing productivity and saving your company money in the long run.
Upskill Your Seasoned Developers
As new technologies and techniques continue to roll out to make development on IBM i more efficient and user-friendly, it’s important to keep your seasoned developers informed and trained. In the past, IT professionals have had to learn new technologies by using tutorial websites or audio tapes.
“I learned a few basics with the archaic audio tape training, but a lot of the material didn’t apply to modern IBM Power Systems,” says one of our students, Jerry Roegner, Rogers Water Utilities. “The imPower Technologies RPG class was a different story.” Roegner continues, “If you are a company that is hiring new programmers to keep your RPG environment cranking on all cylinders, do not make the mistake of supplying your employee with a book or stack of audio tapes to learn from.”
Depending on how long your seasoned developer has been in IBM i development, they may have a hard time picking up new techniques from traditional methods. While they flounder to try and pick up information by surfing web forums or audio files, they are spending time away from their current systems and business support roles. This can negatively impact business operations as well as lose your business time and money.
Formal education from a trusted online training provider will reduce the time it takes for them to learn the new technologies by helping them quickly and effectively grasp the information. For instance, imPower Technologies offers a self-paced ILE RPG programming course that takes a maximum of 10 weeks to complete. Roegner’s response says it all: “Not only did it teach the most modern RPG coding skills, but also saves you from the pain of figuring how to set up RDi, how to navigate the green screen and it demystifies the compiling process of a bunch of RPG modules.”
Train Your New Developers
This is also true with new developers or recent college graduates. If you have hired a newer developer, they may be fluent in many programming languages, though will likely struggle with RPG programming and the IBM i OS. They may also have little knowledge of how your business operates, which can set them back in their onboarding process.
Online training programs in IBM i and RPG programming are what these employees need to be successful. They can enroll at any time, take the course at their own pace, and while taking the course learn about your business operations simultaneously. In a few months, your new developer will be up to speed with IBM i, new RPG programming and your business processes as well!
Benefits of Reliable Online IBM i Training
Get Your ROI
Saving your company money is the most important benefit to enrolling your employees in online educational programs. Ensure you get your return on investment (ROI) from each employee you enroll by selecting an online training program that offers accountability. Progress reports, built-in quizzes and lab assignments are especially key here, so you can know exactly what your employee is taking away from the course to bring to your business.
Expand Your Talent Pool
Additionally, keeping your employees educated will help you easily expand your talent pool of developers and it won’t tie up your seasoned developers with questions and mentoring for new employees. With it getting harder and harder to find qualified talent, any chance your company can get to increase your talent pool is a big win and money saver. In the past, when you hire a new developer, they spend weeks or months with your seasoned developer learning how to operate on your IBM i systems. If they are enrolled in a reliable online training program, they won’t take as much time away from your current developers, so they can keep your business running smoothly.
Don’t Leave the Platform—Modernize Instead
Lastly, keeping your employees educated on IBM i will help your company take advantage of IBM i’s modern features, such as the RDi development tool. Your developers will be able to easily modernize your system and improve project completion capabilities. This can save your company money by reducing issues that arise from lack of knowledge, time constraints or staffing. Up-to-date training will arm your employees with everything they need to move your company into the 21st century.
Saving your company money does require a small investment in education, but the benefits are completely worth it! Focus on education in 2021 to get your company on the right track to continue to modernize and grow.