A similar initiative was implemented in Northern Ireland, called “Test Academy” (see here: http://bit.ly/qCAWCz). Within the local NI industry, there was (and still is) a high demand for Software Testers, but a distinct lack of relevant skills and experience within the Testing talent pool to fill the roles. Representatives from various organisations and universities within the local industry participated in a number of focus group sessions to work together with the aim of trying to address this problem. One of the main initiatives to come out of the focus group sessions was “Test Academy” and was fully supported and facilitated by local government bodies (there were other initiatives, such as liaising with the local universities to offer Software Testing specific course modules and promote Software Testing as a viable career path within their degree programs).

Test Academy was set-up to provide graduates with the necessary training that would give them a good foundation so they could pursue a career in Software Testing (preference was actually given to graduates with non-IT background) . Test Academy attracted over 700 applicants, but only offered 20 places on the program. The selection process for Test Academy was quite rigorous – numerous aptitude tests with only a percentage of the highest scoring being invited to the interview stages. The Test Academy program lasted 14 weeks – 8 weeks of very intensive, but structured classroom training (including exams and assignments) and 6 weeks work placement with a local company (getting first-hand industry experience). After the 6 weeks , the company then had the option to offer the candidate a contract of full-time employment or offer them to another company participating in the initiative.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the Test Academy program was a great success and it is likely that the program will run again in the future. SummerQAmp is not exactly the same, but is very similar. If it is organised and structured correctly (and promoted with a bit more care), it too can be a success!

I think perhaps the problem is the way this article is reported in a way that will annoy certain people out there – specifically testers who love their job and who have the right to get annoyed when it is compared to a second class, easy, no brain required job or as a stepping stone to development.

BTW – the link to the SumerQAmp website is broken. Sorry couldn’t help myself.

Testing is a demanding discipline, and one that requires a lot of focus, attention, and domain specific knowledge to be effective. Some entry level testing can be done by low skilled testers, it’s true, but testing such things as avionics software, biomedical drug conversion and sampling software, or distributed legal system databases are not those types of jobs.

I’d actually like to see these organizations reach out to those of us who actually do software testing for a living and see what we would recommend. Who knows, they may find that software testing is a fulfilling career in its own right, and encourage people to become software testers as a career in its own right. If they decide to become programmers great, but remember, there’s a lot of us software testers that program, too.