OCT 2, 2023, Ridgefield, CT – Kisco Systems today announced the Richard C. Loeber Fellowship for Careers in IBM i. The goal of this new program is to encourage IBM i customers to launch careers by helping them develop IBM i skills in house. Applicants for the fellowship must be sponsored by an active IBM i customer and will receive: free IBM i and RPG training; a one-year COMMON membership including registration for two conferences; and recognition in the IBM i community through Podcasts, COMMON Education Foundation, and more.
Richard Loeber founded Kisco Systems in 1984, almost 40 years ago. His son, and current owner, Justin Loeber, wanted to do something special to celebrate the 40th anniversary milestone while also addressing critical issues in the IBM i community: career development and perceived skills gap.
“IBM i is an amazing platform on which to build an IT career, yet everywhere I go in the IBM i community I hear everyone is retiring and there aren’t enough skilled people to fill all the gaps,” says Justin. “I know there are plenty of smart, hard-working people out there who want to start a career in IT, so it seems to me that the reason we don’t have enough of them is because not enough IBM i shops are investing in training and career development. We hope that by offsetting training costs, this fellowship will help these shops start career development programs.”
ImPower Technologies is the program’s IBM i training partner. Founder and Lead Trainer, Jim Buck, has dedicated his career to the IBM i skills gap. “This fellowship is a great opportunity," he says. "Companies need to see how they can use the resources available (imPower / COMMON) to develop RPG Programmers in-house, debunking the argument that there are no RPG Programmers. It is also a great opportunity for young developers to learn the system and be a part of this awesome IBM i community. It's a Win / Win for all involved. We are looking forward to being a part of this fellowship and to providing the IBM i training to the recipients.”
Manzoor Siddiqui, President of IBM’s COMMON User Group, understands the vision behind the fellowship. “We are excited to partner with Kisco Systems as they launch this fellowship, with a shared goal of providing opportunities for new IT talent. The generous grant will help companies continue investing in their IT talent, and provide a pathway for future IBM i professionals.”
Two fellowship grants are planned for 2024 and more may be added in the future. Applications for the first award are now open. The winner will be announced in January 2024. The second award will be granted in July 2024.
The fellowship is open to any applicant in the US or Canada who is 35 years of age or younger and sponsored by a current IBM i customer. Career background and college education are less important though all applicants must have at least two years of work history. The program is only open to IBM i customers. IBM vendors and ISVs are excluded.
Full program details and an application form are available at www.kisco.com/rcl.
