What is the STORK programme?
The original STORK technical education programme
was developed by Laird Ståhl Education in 1998, specifically for two of
its major consultancy clients, who wanted to set up a programme
to enable them to ‘grow their own’ teams of systems
technicians.
Since the merging of RSM with Laird Ståhl, Amdahl Education
and Circle Education, the company has been looking at ways in which
the STORK programme could be extended and made available to those
clients with similar technical requirements but with smaller numbers
of potential attendees.
Responding to customer demand, the STORK programme has now been
extended so that it offers a fully structured, (and at the same
time, highly flexible) training path for all those who are building
careers in the technical areas of the z/OS computing environment.
The ‘rolling streams’ concept
In the past, a major difficulty when trying
to plan an individual’s
career development and personal training path has been finding
the right course at the right time. Not a huge problem if you are
a large installation with several people needing to cover the same
ground, because the option of having a course run on-site is open
to you. But an on-site course for one or two people? With the best
will in the world on the part of your supplier or training partner,
it’s a costly option.
To resolve this, we developed the rolling streams concept. We
have set up rolling schedules of courses (each one equally useful
as a standalone course) that offer paths that follow a logical
progression of relevance and complexity. The courses in the rolling
streams are spaced apart, allowing attendees the opportunity to
use their newly-learned skills in the workplace, before moving
on to the next stage and subject.
Rolling streams also give course attendees
the option of either fast-tracking or spreading their training
over a longer period, which offers the added bonus of allowing
participants to consolidate each stage of their skills development
with ‘real world’ experience
and project work in the business environment.
Who is it for?
The individual courses that make up the programme are suitable
for all z/OS technical personnel with particular training/education
requirements. However, the STORK rolling streams are structured
and scheduled so that numerous individual training plans can be
created.
Working in systems programming, operations analysis, storage management,
security administration or any other function within the production
environment of a z/OS Data Centre? If you are a technician progressing
in any of these disciplines, or a manager with responsibility for
them, this technical education programme has to be relevant.
The z/OS Systems Programmer’s STORK
programme
Below is an example of a STORK programme
for a z/OS Systems Programmer, the courses grouped into the three
stages – Introductory,
Improver and Advanced.
Stage 1 – introductory
level courses
The IBM Mainframe Computing Environment 2 days
TSO/ISPF Users’ Workshop 2 days
z/OS Concepts & Facilities 2 days
z/OS MVS JCL Workshop 3 days
VSAM Essentials 3 days
Using REXX under TSO 3 days
z/OS MVS & JES2 Operations 3 days
Understanding RACF 1 day
Stage 2 – improver level
courses
z/OS UNIX System Services 2 days
Using z/OS Assembler 5 days
z/OS MVS System Fundamentals – Part 1 4 days
Parallel Sysplex Fundamentals 3 days
Installing Software with SMP/E 4 days
z/OS I/O Performance 2 days
JES2 Implementation and Customisation 3 days
Using HCD for I/O Configuration 2 days
Stage 3 – advanced level
courses
Troubleshooting z/OS Operational Problems 2 days
MVS System Fundamentals – Part 2 5 days
HSM Implementation and Customisation 3 days
SMS Implementation and Customisation 4 days
The two-year OpenTicket™
RSM’s OpenTicket™ scheme gives
clients the opportunity to set up a training schedule for IBM
mainframe technicians that is both structured and flexible, as
well as being highly cost effective.
OpenTicket™ guarantees a named delegate
unlimited access to public presentations of the constituent courses
of the STORK programme during its validity (normally two years).
The holder can also opt to attend additional courses during this
period (subject to availability), at no extra charge.
OpenTicket™ validity and fees
The cost of an OpenTicket™ varies, depending on the career
plan of the individual. At the top end of the scale, a z/OS systems
programmer’s STORK programme is some sixty days. For trainee
technicians in other disciplines, for example storage management,
shift operations, operations analysis etc., the core of their programme
will be relatively smaller, and so will the cost of their OpenTicket™. To find out more about the OpenTicket™ option,
contact RSM at courses@rsm.co.uk or phone: +44 (0) 1494 45 13
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