Dr. Cameron Seay doesn’t tiptoe around problems. He isn’t into discussing the mainframe skills gap; he’s invested in eliminating it. For years, he listened to the industry wring its hands about the “mainframe skills crisis” while very little changed.
Cameron Seay, Ph.D.
Adjunct Instructor, East Carolina University
Founder and Dean, EMMA
North Carolina, USA
Connect with Cameron through EMMA on LinkedIn:
View the entire 2025 Influential Mainframers group here.
So, in August 2024, he and co-founders Geoffrey Decker and Cable Rose, launched the Eli Madison Memorial Mainframe Apprenticeship (EMMA). Within two weeks, EMMA had over 500 interested apprentices. Months later, it’s nearing 1,000.
EMMA is an innovative training program addressing the critical skills gap in mainframe technology. Designed for underrepresented communities, Indigenous Peoples, career changers, IT professionals specializing in mainframe technology, veterans, and recent graduates, EMMA provides a direct route into a high-growth industry.
“EMMA apprentices are the best-trained mainframe workforce on the planet” Seay notes. “They’re learning on live systems, from people who’ve been doing this for decades. This isn’t theory—it’s work.”
EMMA does what traditional pipelines haven’t: remove the gatekeeping and get people into paid mainframe careers. The program blends pre-apprenticeship instruction, real-world infrastructure (yes, on real mainframes), and customized training to meet employer needs. Apprentices leave EMMA with technical chops, one-on-one mentorship, and a direct pathway to jobs.
One former student said, “What you’re doing is truly paradigm-shifting.”
EMMA is placing apprentices into roles before they even complete the program. Employers get what they need. Apprentices get what they deserve. Everybody wins. “Let’s put this nonsense about a skills crisis to bed,” Seay says bluntly. “You can keep telling yourself no one wants to work in mainframe anymore—or you can hire my people.”
Seay isn’t just shaking things up through EMMA. He’s also an adjunct professor at East Carolina University, where he’s built a mainframe curriculum that’s helping revitalize the local economy. He’s a member of the COBOL Working Group and a tireless advocate for open-source collaboration. He is also a returning Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframer.
And that’s the point. Seay isn’t looking to improve the old model—he’s collaborating and building a new one. Judging by the numbers, impact, and energy, it’s working.
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