The IT labor market poses a huge challenge for companies. Endless recruitment difficulties, as a consequence of the oversupply of programmer jobs, make it necessary to look for new solutions. At the same time, this coincides with an increasingly mature management of own employee resources. In many organizations it is already a practice to conduct development programs, competence analysis, periodic evaluation system and succession policy. Knowledge of employees' competencies can provide an alternative to the traditional perception of replenishing teams' skills, which is to hire new people with the desired qualifications. Such a solution is to plan an internal training program, a kind of academy, including not single training courses, but training paths leading to the acquisition of new competencies by employees. IT ac ademy is a solution of this type for developer teams.
What is IT Academy
It is a training program aimed at retraining a selected group of developers for the current or already defined future needs of the organization, carried out in cooperation with a training company. A typical example would be a project to re-educate programmers with several years of work experience, working in technologies that are losing popularity and are not used in new ventures. This is a program of several months, consisting of training modules and project work carried out between workshop sessions. The fruit of the project work is the delivery of a working application created using the technology stack with which the participants of the Academy become familiar. An important element of the program is the individualization of work with each participant, which is provided by additional consultations with the trainer. The program can be implemented in a dedicated mode, however, open academies are also available on the market, in case the company is interested in retraining individuals in such a formula. There are many advantages to choosing an academy as an alternative to recruitment.
The academy means savings
... time and money. Every recruitment is a cost, and because of the risks, unfortunately, they do not always turn out to be an investment. There are costs associated with the work of those involved in the recruitment process, the cost of lower efficiency of the new employee during the adaptation period, the cost of the new employee's salary often higher due to competition in wages with other employers. It is also difficult to determine the duration of a successful recruitment. In addition, if the employee is contractually bound, we must wait for the notice period to expire. Finally, there is also the question of whether he will find his way into the new organizational culture and bind himself to the company permanently. The selection of the Academy and the re-education of its own employees are not subject to these risks. The duration of the program is strictly limited, and so are the costs incurred, which are considerably less --- per Academy participant they are less than the monthly salary of an experienced programmer.
The Academy is a certainty of effectiveness
The program includes employees already associated with the company, so both parties can realistically assess whether participation in the Academy will be a success. The employee already knows the requirements, the specifics of the projects and the company's culture, so he or she makes a conscious decision to participate in the program. On the other hand, the company already knows the potential of the employee who applies to the program, which minimizes the danger of inappropriate investment and selection (inherent in recruitment). There is also a solution to possible concerns about an employee's possible departure after upgrading his or her skills --- an appropriate contract governing the terms of participation in the training program.
Academy is a positive image of the company
Programmers are a professional group for whom the opportunity for professional development is as important as the salary. Projects like the IT Academy are a clear message that the organization meets these expectations. It provides the opportunity to acquire new skills, bets on its own employees, appreciates their seniority. This allows to bind them for a longer period of time and avoid employment fluctuation resulting from the search for new professional challenges. It is also not insignificant to have the image of an employee-friendly company in the employer market --- an important asset in recruitment processes.
What to keep in mind
The success of projects such as the IT Academy is enormously determined by the selection of the right partner. The training company that we invite to cooperate, while maintaining the role of advisor, must at the same time take 100% into account the needs of the company. Showing good practices adapt it to the objectives of each project. IT Academy is not an "off the shelf" product --- it requires adaptation each time. It is worthwhile to use the offer of training companies that already have experience in their implementation.
In conclusion, we cannot always avoid recruitment. However, it is worth remembering that it is not the only solution to problems related to the lack of competencies needed by the company to implement its business plans. It can be an analysis of the potential of the current staff and its appropriate management. Such an approach is being implemented precisely within the IT Academy.
