Learn how ULT graduates get hired at HSBC Global Technology, and also at other major corporations throughout Brazil, Canada, Spain, India and the U.S. Those with mission-critical mainframe skills walk through the doors of these companies as “enterprise-ready” hires who for the most part only require an orientation to data center systems, policies and procedures before they start returning value. For more information on IBM System z, visit http://ibm.co/PNo9Cb. Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.

1. Transworld Data Case Study
ULT and HSBC Global Technology Partner on Winning Mainframe Training
In a unique collaboration between an academic institution and an enterprise, ULT (Latin
American Technology Union) in Curitiba, Brazil, teamed with HSBC Global Technology to
develop a System z training program in Brazil that produces graduates with enterprise-ready
skills for HSBC Global Technology, the technology arm of the HSBC Group, and for other
enterprises. The program enables ULT to offer students relevant technology education that
favorably positions them for the job market.
The stakes in the ULT program are high for HSBC Global Technology, which has 28,000
employees in Brazil, and also a substantial local banking presence. HSBC Global
Technology relies on System z/zEnterprise computing for its mission-critical operations,
and has one of its four worldwide technology development and support organizations,
with over 700 employees, located in Curitiba. The success of this organization depends
on being able to recruit and infuse fresh young talent capable of working on mainframe-
class machines.
“The head of HSBC Global Technology’s Human Resources Department for Technology
and Support came to me, and said that many of their mainframe employees were retiring
and that they needed to educate and hire in young people with mainframe, COBOL and
communications skills,” said Carlos Oliveira, President of ULT http://www.ult.edu.br/.
From the beginning, the ULT-HSBC Global Technology synergy was there.
Organizations like HSBC Global Technology focus on developing technology solutions
to support their end businesses. They do not specialize in developmental IT training,
although they recognize that they require it. Conversely, an educational institution like
ULT has instructional expertise. Both HSBC Global Technology and ULT felt that there
was an opportunity for ULT to develop a strong System z/zEnterprise curriculum and to
advance its goals of developing students so they will be prepared for the enterprise IT job
market. As a ULT business partner and sponsor that was integral to the process, HSBC
Global Technology wanted to be the recipient of these enterprise-ready graduates.
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 1

2. Starting a System z Program
Carlos Oliveira, President, ULT
The initial challenge for both HSBC Global
Technology and ULT was budget. HSBC Global
Technology did not have a separate internal training
budget that could fund the effort, and ULT could not
begin the task of developing a new technology
curriculum from the ground up and then hire
instructors without some initial funding. This
required creative thinking to overcome the
complications.
To offset ULT’s initial financial burden of
developing a System z curriculum and hiring
instructors, HSBC Global Technology agreed to furnish the instructors, who already were
HSBC Global Technology-paid IT staff members. HSBC Global Technology also agreed
to lend the HSBC Global Technology “brand” to the school. “As a result of this team
effort, we have some of the best COBOL and mainframe professionals teaching our
classes,” said ULT’s Carlos Oliveira. “They are true evangelists. They love the
technology, they are actual industry practitioners working inside of an enterprise, and
they share their enthusiasm with the students.”
What neither organization anticipated was the overwhelming student response.
As students became aware of the new System z technology curriculum at ULT, they also
began to see the job opportunities in enterprises for graduates with this type of training.
Students responded overwhelmingly and enthusiastically to the program. Consequently,
in the initial five-week enrollment period for the classes, ULT had 105 students enrolled
in mainframe classes. “The IBM Academic Initiative program really took off,” said
Oliveira. “The program had strong participation from the beginning, and students who
did well were hired by HSBC Global Technology.”
Developing an Enterprise-Ready Curriculum
At the heart of the ULT-HSBC Global Technology effort was collaborative development
of a purposeful curriculum that would give ULT a new technology program, equip
students with skills that were highly sought in the enterprise IT job market in Brazil, and
deliver to HSBC Global Technology fresh talent for the mainframe side of its data center.
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 2

3. “We took a decidedly different approach to building and delivering the System z
curriculum,” said Oliveira. “From the very beginning, we were directly involved with the
President of HSBC Global Technology, which is responsible for the bank’s software
development. We wanted to produce enterprise technology-ready graduates from the
program, and HSBC Global Technology wanted to hire them. Also from the beginning,
we were under a great deal of pressure to make this program work very quickly.”
Students were attracted to the program because courses were taught by mainframe
instructors who were expert technical practitioners in their own right in the HSBC Global
Technology mainframe environment. One of these instructors is Ricardo Silva, a
mainframe support analyst and trainer in HSBC Global Technology since 1993, and a
mainframe trainer in ULT since 2007.
“I built a mainframe course covering various mainframe tools. The course was developed
with the objective of enabling students to be able to produce a system on a mainframe
platform,” said Silva.
The curriculum is comprised of several courses:
 Introduction to ZOS: Brief history and features of mainframe software and hardware.
 TSO/ISPF: Discusses working with files on TSO (allocation, editing, copying, utilities,
etc.). In this module, the student receives a userid to access TSO.
 JCL: Covers all JCL statements necessary to develop systems in a batch environment,
such as JOB, EXEC, DD, IF, PROCS, GDG, etc.
 COBOL for z/OS: Covers all COBOL language for z/OS, including all access methods
used by COBOL.
 SQL: Relational theory concepts and DML/DDL commands.
 DB2: DB2 concepts and SQL embedded in a COBOL program.
 CICS: CICS concepts, map definition (BMS) and CICS APIs.
The System z curriculum provides an excellent theoretical foundation for the mainframe,
but it is also very hands-on and practical. The overall idea is to assist students in the
development of their skills as mainframe programmers, but also to give them a
sufficiently sound foundation that will allow them to more effectively solve technical
problems that they encounter because they have a deeper understanding of how
everything works together.
Silva points to courses in COBOL, DB2 and CICS as examples of how students receive
this strong foundation, and then continue to build on that foundation with progressively
more difficult “hands on” assignments.
“In the COBOL course, students develop a small batch system,” Silva said. “They work
on file consistency by updating a VSAM file, and then they build a report for a user. In
the DB2 course, students change the COBOL program created in the previous COBOL
course. They change their VSAM file to DB2 tables. In the CICS course, students
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 3

4. develop a small online system with CICS screens (BMS), using the database created in
the previous DB2 course.”
The approach works. Almost every program graduate secures employment in an
enterprise IT organization.
Student Responsiveness and Enterprise Results
Since ULT began offering mainframe courses four years ago, hundreds of students have
gone through the program, including 115 students at the end of 2011.
Like many young people entering into enterprise technology course work, ULT students
walk through the door with some understanding of the PCs and the mobile devices that
they have grown up with, but have limited understanding of the level of computing
required to run large enterprises. “We recognize the importance of the System z program
when we speak with young students entering the courses,” said Carlos Oliveira. “Most
have no knowledge of mainframe computing, how important it is, and what it does.”
Marcelo Liteka, a ULT student, is a good example.
“Before the coursework at ULT, I did not know much about mainframe computing in
practice,” said Liteka, who took a year-long course at ULT on mainframe technologies
that included z/OS, TSO, DB2, CICS, JCL and COBOL. “I had an understanding of the
importance of IBM mainframe tools on banking and large companies systems--but I was
surprised about how much more companies used mainframe computing. It was much
more than I thought they did.”
Today, Liteka is an IT banking employee. He uses the mainframe skills that he developed
at ULT. “I work in a mainframe environment taking care of user access and the program
life cycle on Endevor. I also perform CICS maintenance, DB2 access and maintenance,
and other maintenance related to the mainframe environment,” said Liteka “The
mainframe skills I developed at ULT were the main reason why I got this job. Without
the mainframe education, I also would not have the necessary level of confidence needed
for the job I do today. All the training and the tutoring at ULT were highly valuable to
me.”
In another case, System z training at ULT allowed an employee to make a career change.
Alessandra Moreira, a business analyst in HSBC Global Technology, took a ten-month
course at ULT in COBOL and the mainframe. “The course was instrumental in my
securing employment with HSBC Global Technology,” said Moreira. “It gave me a great
opportunity and it allowed me to make the career change I wanted.”
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 4

5. The value of the ULT System z program is also being felt in enterprises in Brasil like
HSBC Global Technology, which hires 30 to 40 mainframe-trained students from ULT
annually.
“ULT has very high quality courses, and it is also very selective of the students who
enroll in them,,” said Caio Doi, Head of Human Resources at the HSBC Global
Technology Technology Center. “In other words, they are not just “selling” courses and
trying to get as many people enrolled as possible. Instead, they are making the effort to
attract the best and brightest students into these subjects. Because of this, we find that the
ULT graduates who accept IT positions here at HSBC Global Technology are much
better trained and prepared than other recruits that come from outside of ULT.”
Moving Forward with New Strategies
Developing a System z curriculum that is closely calibrated to the real-world working
needs of enterprises has enhanced ULT’s reputation for real world results from the
education that it offers. This has driven sizable annual student enrollments in the
program, because students see the results and want to invest in an education that can
secure strong employment opportunities.
Keeping these enterprise technology courses aligned with the needs of enterprises is the
cornerstone of the program’s success. “We have had nothing but great results from the
partnership with Grupo Américas,” said HSBC Global Technology’s Caio Doi. “It’s good
when we can align academic studies with the skills needs of our jobs in the company.
Doi said that HSBC Global Technology’s close affiliation with ULT has solved a critical
enterprise problem: securing excellent mainframe technology training for new and
existing employees. “By working closely with ULT, we are able to adapt the academic
curriculum to what we need, whether it is skills in the System z area, Java skills, or even
skills in English as a second language. We find that the technology curriculum is taught
so well that when ULT interns and graduates come to us, all we really need to do is to put
them through the basic orientation to our specific systems.”
This program has succeeded so well that it has inspired ULT to extend the reach of its
education. The school’s strategic direction is to convert its classroom courses to an online
distributed learning format that can be targeted to a larger marketplace where students in
over 5,300 cities throughout Brazil (a country of over 50 million broadband users) can
participate in online classes that feature mainframe technology. “We are moving
aggressively in this direction, and this is the last year that we will be giving classes in
classrooms,” said Carlos Oliveira. “We believe that the future of technology curriculum
is in online learning.”
Others believe in the power of online learning, too. Last year, Oliveira presented ULT’s
online education model at the University of California. “What we showed them was the
mainframe program, which combines enterprise know-how with institutional education
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 5

6. expertise to produce courses and then extends the reach of these courses by converting
them to an online format that is available to anyone who has Internet and a broadband
connection,” said Oliveira.
The online learning utilizes Blackboard, a content management and learning tool that
allows a professor to communicate with students over the Internet via voice and text. The
software can also deliver tests, grades, videos, other technical resources and even lab
system testing exercises. Most importantly, the program is working---and it is inspiring
other institutions of higher learning to consider a similar methodology for technology
coursework.
Summary
Today, ULT graduates get hired at HSBC Global Technology, and also at other major
corporations throughout Brazil, Canada, Spain, India and the U.S. Those with mission-critical
mainframe skills walk through the doors of these companies as “enterprise-ready” hires who for
the most part only require an orientation to data center systems, policies and procedures before
they start returning value.
While this is happening, the worldwide higher education community is being scrutinized by
enterprises and by students. Students want their educational investment to culminate in jobs, and
industry wants to see graduates who can quickly become productive in enterprise IT. Using its
close partnership with HSBC Global Technology, ULT has become both a results-driven and a
results-producing institution, positioning it well in the worldwide drive to excellence in enterprise
technology education.
Copyright 2012 Transworld Data Research Tel (360)956-9536 6