What is the STORK programme?
If you are planning to develop your own team of Systems Programmers and Technical Support Specialists, then this is the training programme for you.
RSM develops training programmes for both groups and for individuals. Which do you need?
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.
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 to those clients with similar technical requirements but with smaller numbers of potential candidates.
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 typical 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 JCL Workshop Part 1 - Foundation Skills (3 days)
VSAM Essentials (3 days)
Using REXX under TSO/ISPF (3 days)
z/OS & JES2 Operations (3 days)
Parallel Sysplex Concepts & Facilities (2 days)
RACF Overview (1 day)
Stage 2 – improver level courses
z/OS UNIX System Services Part 1 - Concepts & Facilities (2 days)
Using z/OS Assembler 5 days
z/OS System Fundamentals Part 1 - zArchitecture (4 days)
Parallel Sysplex: Operations, Troubleshooting & Recovery (3 days)
Installing Software with SMP/E 4 days
z/OS I/O Monitoring, Tuning & Troubleshooting (2 days)
JES2 Implementation and Customisation (3 days)
Using HCD for I/O Configuration (3 days)
Stage 3 – advanced level courses
Troubleshooting z/OS Operational Problems (3 days)
z/OS System Fundamentals Part - z/OS Infrastructure & Services (5 days)
Storage Management Implementation and Customisation (3 days)
SMS Administration & Exploitation (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 13 |
