Fast-track training puts nontechies in IT jobs

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by Julekha Dash

(IDG) -- Earlier this month, Freddie Mac successfully added 16 IT workers to its ranks in just 11 weeks. It did so using an innovative approach that it plans to turn to again in January.

The McLean, Virgina-based mortgage aggregator isn't looking outside to fill these slots. Rather, it's transforming a select group of its own business workers into IT employees through a fast-track training program.

The company, known formally as Federal Home Mortgage Corp., has so far spent between $600,000 and $700,000 on the initiative to train seasoned employees to fill vacant technology positions, said Bill Ledman, senior vice president of information systems and services at Freddie Mac.

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"It's not uncommon for virtually everyone to have open technology positions for a while. Here we have a group of people who are very smart. Some of them have strong aptitude for systems work," he said.

In the 11-week training program, students learn about technology through classroom instruction, computer-based training, and individual and team projects. The firm also assigns senior IT workers to mentor and help students make the transition from the classroom to their new positions.

Freddie Mac selected mostly risk managers and analysts in the firm's single-family mortgage purchase division for the program. But next year, it plans to open the opportunity to the entire corporation, said Ledman. Candidates interested in the training program must first take an aptitude test.

"When we picked people, we wanted to make sure that they had a good chance of succeeding," said Ledman.

Interest among Freddie Mac employees has been high. The company has twice as many workers on the waiting list as the program can accommodate, Ledman said.

Bob Markovitz, a former valuation analyst, recently completed Freddie Mac's training program. He said he had been interested in improving his technical skills for some time but lacked the time and money to do so. He said the program was challenging and fast-paced, adding that he takes work home at night to get up to speed on IT projects.

The program, Markovitz added, will also help Freddie Mac employees meet the needs of their customers, since so much of the company's work is technology-driven.

While many companies encourage business staffers to gain IT skills, most firms lack formal training programs to help employees make the transition, said analysts.

"It makes sense to mine the strengths of your closet techies as much as possible," said Kazim Isfahani, a senior analyst at Information Group Inc., located in Cambridge, Mass.

The state of Texas offers a similar IT training program for employees who have worked there for at least two years, but Isfahani said he hasn't heard of such opportunities at any other private companies.

But transforming nontechies into Web programmers doesn't come without its challenges. Ledman said students need to be prepared that they might not learn everything they need in 11 weeks and that most of their training will actually occur on the job.

Barbara Gomolski, research director at The Gartner Institute in Eden Prairie, Minn., said using aptitude tests and other methods for screening individuals is key to ensuring success in this type of program. But in spite of that, she added, it may be a year or more before employees are productive.

And even though candidates are screened, some people "just won't catch on," she warned. "You're not going to have a 100% success rate."

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