John Ghrist discusses the issues associated with the dwindling RPG talent pool and how to solve them for the future with two IBM i industry leaders.

It’s been a growing issue for many years now that as developers with years of RPG programming experience under their belts head into retirement, the enterprises that have depended on them to maintain the RPG-based IBM i apps that run those companies’ businesses have an urgent need to hire new talent. The dual problem that most human resources departments encounter in trying to fill that need is that the hiring departments want new developers who can step into outgoing developers’ shoes and be productive immediately, but the most logical candidates for these jobs – students currently learning programming languages in colleges – aren’t learning ILE-RPG.

The good news is that IBM has been working to provide some workarounds to help enterprises undo this Gordian knot. MCPO Contributor John Ghrist recently sat down with Steve Will, IBM i CTO and Distinguished Engineer, to discuss some present remedies and upcoming changes that will provide some answers to the questions this situation is raising for many companies still invested in the IBM i platform.

MCPO: Good afternoon, Steve. Are there a few words you’d like to say about your responsibilities and experience at IBM that have put you in a position to have some solutions to this dilemma?

Steve Will: I’ve been Chief Architect of IBM i for over 17 years now, and in that role, I’ve had the chance to talk to hundreds, no, thousands of people who use IBM i. During that time, I’ve been leading a great team who have recognized the requirement to help bring the next generations of talent into the IBM i community. We’ve made investments, added technology, helped our user groups and partners create education. It’s been a focus area for me and my team for years. And, to top it off, I talk with executives at companies who use IBM i and advise them on how to address this dilemma.

MCPO: Can you say a few words to frame the basic problem?

Will: Sure. There are two basic factors at work here. The companies are having trouble finding skills they need to maintain the RPG-based apps that they’ve relied on for years to run their businesses. The C-suites have relied on their IT departments to get this job done year after year, so they task their HR departments to find “replacement programmers,” and everyone assumes that means “experienced ILE-RPG developers.” But the ones who are out there and who really have years of experience aren’t looking to relocate or start a new job this close to retirement. So, job candidates who fit the description are hard to come by. The other factor is that computer science and training program potential new hires are leery of taking a job writing in a language that has been used for decades. To them, it’s “old technology” and they think it’s a dead end for them careerwise – even though that assessment really isn’t true. Also, they’ve likely learned the languages they do know in Microsoft Visual Code (VS)-based browser environments that have a lot of built-in tools for doing coding work, which they think they’re not going to find on what they consider to be a “legacy platform.”

MCPO: So how are many HR departments mistakenly coping with this dilemma?

Will: Largely, HR looks at the qualifications of the person they’re seeking to replace. Because those qualifications include years of ILE-RPG experience, they make the natural assumption that a replacement person must have parallel experience. But there just aren’t that many candidates of that kind out there looking for work. This causes concern. However, there are companies who have a different approach: look for developers who like to learn and sell them on the idea of working for a good company at a secure and well-paying job, while committing to the candidate that they will have time to learn on the job.

MCPO: Do you think part of the problem is that ILE-RPG is viewed by most businesspeople as “old technology?”

Will: It’s a mistake if they do. Modern, free-format ILE-RPG is a language designed specifically to work with IBM i and it has plenty of features to handle all kinds of business functions. I think most businesspeople don’t really care what language their apps are written in. They’re mainly concerned with finding a productive replacement for developers who can do the job without having to resort to changing platforms. This means the hiring line departments need to be willing to invest in providing new hires with modern code-editing tools, because some can produce RPG just as well as Java or PHP, for example – two languages that also run on IBM i. IBM wants companies like this to understand that they can hire developers who know any language, because that expertise can translate to ILE-RPG relatively quickly.

MCPO: Isn’t another solution to provide some RPG-specific training for new hires?

Will: Many businesspeople have the misconception that training new hires will take months when they’re looking for productivity in days or weeks. However, there are solutions, such as COMMON Boot Camps, which can teach RPG in just 12 online lessons. In addition, there are training companies run by IBM i veterans like Jim Buck and Susan Gantner that can make computer-savvy students productive in RPG in a few weeks. Companies who don’t have that much patience tend to overlook the practicality of solutions like this and are letting the “perfect” get in the way of the “clearly valuable and good.”

MCPO: Is this enough to overcome potential new hires’ hesitation to take a job using what they may view as “old-school” technology?

Will: If potential hires are given modern development tools that they’re familiar with, tools that can translate to many other platforms and that don’t make them feel like an actor who’s been “type-cast,” perhaps combined with a short training course, that could make many people feel welcome at an established, stable company that offered competitive salaries and favorable working conditions. If a hiring company is willing to look for developers open to learning something new to them, I would think that would be a good match. We have customers who have been very successful with this approach.

MCPO: Do you think this kind of approach would appeal to graduating computer science students with a particular interest in even newer technology – artificial intelligence, for example?

Will: As it happens, IBM is planning something we’ve been calling the RPG Code Assistant. It will be an AI tool that will help explain existing code to a developer, which will be especially useful if the developer is picking up code and the original programmer is no longer available. Plus, explanations will help every programmer looking at code that was written in a different style or with a different version of RPG than they are used to. And this Code Assistant will do even more in the future. In an upcoming article in MCPO, I plan to get into this topic in detail.

A View from the Trenches

One person and company who exemplifies the attitude of solving the RPG dilemma in their shop by looking for programmers who like to learn rather than having to already know ILE-RPG is Steven Wolk, CTO at PC Richard & Son, IBM Power Systems Champion, Speaker, Teacher, Leader, and IBM i Enthusiast, whose company uses IBM i technology.

MCPO: Can you quickly summarize your company's business and the importance of IBM i systems to it?

Wolk: PC Richard & Son is a 115-year-old, family-owned retailer of consumer electronics, appliances, and mattresses, operating 66 showrooms across the Northeast U.S. We set ourselves apart with an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and technological innovation. IBM i is at the core of our business, powering many of our in-house applications that drive our mission-critical operations at scale. We’re also proud to have three IBM Champions on our team, reflecting our dedication to the platform.

MCPO: Your company has had success with bringing in developers straight out of college who don't know anything about ILE-RPG and getting them productive and excited about working on your IBM i infrastructure. How did you achieve that, with how many developers and over what period?

Wolk: When hiring developers, I prioritize qualities that can't be taught — curiosity, problem-solving skills, determination, strong communication, and a passion for lifelong learning. Technical skills can always be learned, but these intrinsic attributes are invaluable. We actively recruit new graduates because limiting our search to long-time IBM i professionals significantly restricts the talent pool. When we find individuals who are passionate about technology and eager to learn, exposing them to the IBM i platform sparks their enthusiasm. They quickly recognize its capabilities and become deeply engaged, often staying with us for many years as they grow along with the company. We are fortunate to have an exceptional team of talented developers and have successfully onboarded four developers brand-new to the platform in the last 18 months alone. Their fresh perspectives and adaptability continue to bring new energy and innovation to our IBM i environment.

MCPO: Steve Will has discussed the importance of looking for developers who are willing to learn, but he's also said that giving those developers modern tools is important. Have you found that? And if so, what tools have you found most useful?

Wolk: I fully agree with Steve Will on the importance of providing modern tools for developers. At PC Richard & Son, we've found that using tools like VS Code with Code for i is the future for IBM i development. While RDi remains valuable, it's crucial to give young developers familiar, flexible environments. Forcing them to use outdated tools like SEU and green screen, or restricting them from leveraging free-form RPG, SQL, APIs, and other contemporary development practices, can be a major deterrent. Equally important is the type of work they do. While maintaining legacy code is necessary, long-term engagement comes from working on modern web and mobile applications. By allowing developers to build new functionality and integrate IBM i with cutting-edge technologies, we keep them motivated and help them see the vast potential of the platform.

MCPO: What words of advice would you have for other CIOs who need to find new developer talent to take ownership of the existing RPG code and bring new business value to their applications?

Wolk: The key is having an open mindset about how development on IBM i should evolve. If you focus solely on minimal updates to existing RPG code, you’ll struggle to retain top talent. However, by empowering developers to refactor and modernize applications, you not only improve your environment but also shed the "legacy" label that can discourage new hires. Retention is about more than just training — it’s about opportunity. Today’s developers bring tremendous knowledge and capability from day one. The days of requiring extensive, months-long onboarding before seeing value from new hires are gone. If you embrace languages, frameworks, and development tools they already know, they can contribute immediately while learning IBM i in parallel. The real challenge isn’t finding developers — it’s giving them a reason to stay by making IBM i an exciting, evolving platform where they can make an impact.

John Ghrist has been a journalist, programmer, and systems manager in the computer industry since 1982. He has covered the market for IBM i servers and their predecessor platforms for more than a quarter century and has attended more than 25 COMMON conferences. A former editor-in-chief with Defense Computing and a senior editor with SystemiNEWS, John has written and edited hundreds of articles and blogs for more than a dozen print and electronic publications. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..