How we opened an IT-school on the basis of the technical support department: hold the cable and blow to the fields

It so happened that we - damn big company. More than 2000 employees, thousands of large-scale projects. And people are needed everywhere. Many qualified professionals. One of the main entry points is our technical support department.

Actually, I just want to tell you that we started to share our teaching materials (so far in the form of webinars and videos), and about what students are going through to become engineers.
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For example, after one of the first lessons we give out sheets of paper, please make something flying out of them and get them on the table without going inside the room. Lucky throw planes after a series of tests and workouts in another room. Tricky collect incredible designs with five folds on the wings. Those who are quiet quietly clarify the terms of reference, and then tear their sheet in confetti and throw shrapnel. If at least one fragment got - the task is completed.

But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the practice of IT.

As arranged

So, the usual way for a student in my department is to first get into the summer IT school. It began about five years ago, when students unexpectedly came to us. With burning eyes. Five people. And they said that they want to do practical work with us. We stood next to the experts, helped, with what we could, learned. Then two of them stayed to work.

The following year, more students came. It became clear that something had to be done with them, and we began to teach them. So it was. We learn all the theories, and then after classes we offer to try our hand at business directly in the "combat" department (for free). Who agrees - falls into the real practical life. So it was. For example, here are three stories: a project manager, a telecommunications engineer (from one course), and support staff:

PM Ilya:

I studied in Baumanka on computer systems and networks. Came to training just for these networks. We were taught every day: half of the topics were about engineering, and the other part was about management and project management. About 40 percent of this I knew, and the remaining 60% did not. On the technical side, they don’t give such a deep return to the university, there was a practice here. I remember, I then clearly decided that it was more interesting to conduct projects. I myself would probably have studied for a very long time - I just did not know where to go, what to watch, how to do it. Courses from manufacturers would also be of little help - holistic knowledge is available on the market, in fact, only by an integrator. After studying, I wanted to apply for analytics in Raiffeisen, but nevertheless I decided that it would be more interesting here. I remember telling how to make a map of those responsible - who is responsible for what. Sometimes - when someone is on vacation or on New Year's holidays - to know who else is responsible.

Engineer Nikita:

Here people learned cool. A lot of new. This is the first job, doing everything by hand. People from different departments came to us: managers and VKS'niki, and tsiskari - told about their work, pros and cons. Everything is as it is. I knew little then - I wanted more. The equipment still gave a kick - at the institute it was, but very mediocre. And then the real laboratory - and you saw something with the guys, you go through brainstorming together. At the first exit I was driving, driving iron in the labs - commands are clear, but everything does not add up. It was dumb at first - it is not clear where you are going, strangers want something ... Then you speak the same language. At first, he traveled with other engineers. Then they sent one. The first combat departure was to change the Avaya node. I went with the manual. Came, found where, did. No surprises. Left Breathed out. I remember the training of the second year - there were phones that had flashed firmware, and they all became with the same poppy. I took them apart and set them up, and my mentor Ilya reflashed them. Two days sat - 14 hours in total took. Another of the first tasks was to attach me to Harry in class. They say: "here he is an engineer, go after him." He enters the machine room, shows the rack. Wires are crooked. Make it smooth. And we sawed the SCS, probably, about 25 minutes.

Engineer Emma:

The training ended a year ago, the impressions are very positive. She studied telecommunications systems engineer, there were 5 girls and 15 guys in the group. Here, in engineering training, only two girls per person are 20 guys. But it did not bother at all, it was cool. Everything was unusual. The building, people. Most of all, telephony was remembered - I decided to go there right away - it was painfully interesting how everything is built. When knowledge began to get deep into this topic, I realized that it was not exactly where I would like to go further, I chose another engineering direction. What is remembered? For example, I had to change the fee on the Avayevsky server - I thought I would come, open the server room, start to figure it out ... And in fact, they figured out the problem in the office - it immediately became clear what to turn off, pull out the board and put it back. On the other hand, it’s nice: you come, you feel, now you’ll pick up the whole telephony, you can help people.

Why practice

Because it is simple, understandable and extremely attached to real life. There are a number of technologies for which the only experts in Russia are our specialists who worked on the first implementations. While still working in a team with a person with ten years of experience, the speed of recruiting experience increases significantly - he saw a lot and does not always trust the training material, instructions and promises of manufacturers.

So, we have the following scheme:

1. Telecommunication IT-school. This, as a rule, is a theory and the possibility in practice to try design work, solving simple tasks. We expand the student's outlook, use it for routine operations, where it is difficult to make a mistake. Here, for example, as Nikita told above - he spun the phones, and the engineer reflashed.
2. If you like everything - we take a student trainee. This is already paid work, but training is ongoing. Advanced course, more practice. The teachers come, they teach, who liked it - you can ask to the department. Usually we assign the trainee not to the teacher himself, but to the engineer. For example, from 10 to 16 a student works with a ciskovod with whom he is interning (that is, he does tasks in our department), and spends the rest of his working day (sometimes until night, if he leaves) with an expert he chose as a mentor. Learning experience first hand. It is clear that we have few experts, so they don’t get to everyone. There is no fight for them, but a more successful student or trainee always takes precedence.
3. Then, after several “combat” trips, the intern is enrolled on a permanent basis. He will definitely spend the first few months in the technical support department: learn to talk to people, master common tools, see customers live, sit on the phone, and so on. Go into the process - go to the department of his mentor during practice. Or, sometimes, decide to learn from another expert, and then go into another department. Therefore, we are such a forge of personnel for the whole of KROK.

Actually, knowledge

At some point, we realized through the flow of students that many people want to learn life in IT from an integrator. You can touch the entire iron park, real projects, if you move - a good career growth. Great tasks, great opportunities, some of the best practitioners in the country. Rare iron, which is sometimes in Russia in a single copy. In general, Klondike. And experts like it - the old Soviet system of mentor and student works fine.

The point is that now we have decided to do several important things:

1. First, start quietly collecting, systematizing and sharing the theory that goes on practical exercises. While in the form of webinars, here, for example .
2. Secondly, to make not only a summer IT school for young specialists, but also a winter one . This is all the sweetest of learning - and a new live expert (sometimes in a sweater from the 90s and only from the exit) each lesson, and a full review of technologies with pluses and minuses, and stories about the features of each department and in each specialty. Simply and without embellishment. So that you can navigate in general in a situation, know where to dig, and at least understand what manuals and why to take. And what technologies are used for what, where are the problems. Winter school is paid, and there are already quite a few who want to. Practicing in a real team at a school is not provided (this is not for everyone’s interest), but after class you can agree with the teachers of interest without any problems.
3. Thirdly, if it is interesting to you, we can start doing here, in our corporate blog on Habré, a series of educational campaigns from practitioners. There will be more stories not about a specific technology, but how and what to learn, what is important and what is not, and what you need to know about the sphere as a whole. Plus stories, error stories, the most frequent rakes and all that.

Actually, it is important for me now to understand if this is interesting to you. I understand that the majority of readers are hardened gurus, but I think it is always interesting to look at someone else’s kitchen and listen to other people's stories. Like these .