I've recently started work on an upcoming I&T feature story on recruiting and retaining IT talent. I'm just now developing a focus but, already, I can tell that there will be no shortage of sources for the story. Just after taking a quick glance at the "workforce" folder in my e-mail inbox, I see that Aflac, Northwestern Mutual and Medical Mutual of Ohio's Antares Management Solutions (Antares, a wholly owned MMOH subsidiary, acts as an outsourcer to other insurers and also handles much of the carrier's internal IT work), among others have earned Best Places to Work in IT honors from Computerworld.

As I research the topic more, I find that I'm most interested in stories that aim to not only retain current IT workers but recruit and train new ones as well. At Antares for instance, a program has been established to attract young IT professionals to the company straight out of college and -- through a 12 week training program affectionately known as the "Antares Boot Camp" -- teach them the basics of insurance IT as well as some marketing and finance.

According to a document produced by Medical Mutual of Ohio's media relations team, Paul Apostle, vice president, enterprise technology development and innovation and Andy Balazs, vice president, enterprise technology, advancement infrastructure and operations have even joined HR personnel on recent visits to area colleges in order to recruit graduating students into the program.

In addition to technology skills, the carrier places a premium on communication skills when selecting potential employees. The boot camp meanwhile, is meant to not only develop young employee's technical skills, but also business skills around communication and an understanding of marketing and finance.

from the document:

When finalists are accepted into boot camp and hired, they are put before a team of technical managers who offer a dose of reality, firing questions at the new recruits.

"The thing we try to impress upon the recruits, " said Jason [Craft, an Antares HR generalist], "is that making the transition from the academic world to the business world is critical. We explain our core business. Executives like Paul Apostle explain what we do as a company, not only from a technology perspective, but also from the viewpoint of marketing and finance. We teach recruits the business from a 'holistic' perspective," said Jason.

After the 12 week program, the recruits are transferred into assigned work groups and integrated into the Antares workforce.

MMOH also suggests that the training program works as a recruiting tool. Not only does it help prevent what the company has labeled "brain drain," or the flight of area college graduates to other regions, but former program participants are beginning to go back to their alma maters and build up word-of-mouth about the Antares Boot Camp program and Medical Mutual of Ohio.

This is a public forum. Techweb and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. Techweb makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in the message center do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this forum becomes the property of United Business Media and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: The Message Center is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.