Published by ars technica on April 13, 2020
IBM scrambles to find or train more COBOL programmers to help states
Some states rely on COBOL software to manage unemployment systems.
The COBOL programming language was created in 1959 and has been widely seen as obsolete for decades. Yet there are still a fair number of software systems based on the language. The economic stresses of the coronavirus pandemic have created a surge in demand for COBOL programmers. Last week, for example, the governor of New Jersey put out a call for COBOL programmers to help fix problems with the software that runs the state’s unemployment insurance system.
A new initiative from IBM seeks to connect states with experienced COBOL programmers—and to train a new generation of them.
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