Stream: Monaco
Time: 15:30 - 16:15
The mainframe skills gap is one of the most discussed challenges in our industry. We all recognise it, many organisations are concerned about it, and countless conversations take place about how to address it. Yet, despite the attention, much of the responsibility is often assumed to belong to someone else. This session argues that sustaining and growing the mainframe community is not the responsibility of a select few educators, employers, vendors, or advocates. Instead, it is a collective responsibility that everyone can contribute to, regardless of experience level, job role, or career stage. Drawing on my experiences as an IBM Z Student Ambassador, Vice President of the University of Wolverhampton Mainframe Student Society, technical writer, public speaker, and contributor to community education initiatives, I will share practical examples of grassroots advocacy and skills development. These include organising student events, running educational workshops, bringing industry experts into university communities, creating technical learning content, and helping students engage with programmes such as IBM Z Xplore. The session will explore how knowledge sharing, mentoring, volunteering, public speaking, technical writing, open-source contributions, and community-led education can collectively strengthen the future of the mainframe ecosystem. Attendees will see examples of how educational content can be made more accessible through initiatives such as the Open Mainframe Project Mainframe Open Education project, including interactive learning resources designed to simplify complex mainframe concepts. Attendees will learn why the mainframe skills challenge requires participation from the entire community rather than a small group of specialists, and they will gain practical ideas for how individuals can contribute to skills development and community growth regardless of experience level. The session will also share lessons learned from building and leading a university mainframe society and engaging new students with enterprise computing, along with examples of how community-driven initiatives such as the Open Mainframe Project help make mainframe education more accessible. By the end of the session, attendees will have concrete actions they can take after the conference to support learning, mentoring, advocacy, and knowledge sharing within the ecosystem. This is not a technical product presentation. It is a community-focused session built around real experiences, lessons learned, and practical actions that attendees can apply within their own organisations and communities.
There is currently no attachment for Mainframe as a Democracy: Why Everyone Has a Role in Closing the Skills Gap
Zubair Idris Aweda is a results-driven software engineer with experience in full-stack web development. Zubair is skilled in a variety of programming languages and frameworks, including PHP, Laravel, MySQL, JavaScript, Node.js, and TypeScript. Zubair is committed to delivering high-quality, scalable solutions that meet the needs of users. He has a strong track record of collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver successful software products.
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