Orizon and the UA strengthen the recruitment and development of talent in critical computer systems

Alicante, 7 May 2025. – Alicante has become an international magnet for talent in large central systems (also known as mainframe), having hosted since 2018 one of the most specialised courses in this computing environment.

The course is the result of a collaboration between the Alicante technology company Orizon and the University of Alicante (UA), and is designed for students finishing technical degrees such as Mathematics, Physics, Computer Engineering, Multimedia Engineering, Sound and Image Engineering, Telecommunications and Robotics Engineering.

In information technology there is high demand for professionals who specialise in these systems, given the essential role they play even though they date back to the 1950s, compared with professionals focused on technologies that have emerged in recent years, such as Artificial Intelligence.

In fact, more than 70% of global banking transactions currently go through these systems, and 67% of Fortune 100 companies rely on this technology for their critical operations, according to Rocket Software. Likewise, according to Market Research Future, the mainframe market was worth $5.3 billion in 2024 and will reach $8.87 billion in 2034, a compound annual growth rate of 5.27% over 2025-2034.

The course run by Orizon and the UA, which also promote seminars and various R&D projects, is one of the most advanced in the Spanish and European university system, and this year held its fifth edition. Over its five editions it has trained some fifty professionals.

It also offers the added value of access to knowledge about improving companies' software performance, a discipline Orizon leads in the market thanks to its own unique technology, BOA.

It is also a unique mainframe training because the students who take it, and later join Orizon's team, learn to work with this critical platform, which has a guaranteed future, from a cutting-edge discipline: data science.

For Orizon, the course is part of its commitment to creating qualified jobs in the region and generating applied knowledge. From its Performance Technical Office (OTR), also in Alicante, the company serves customers in Spain and Latin America, especially in sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications and utilities.

According to Ángel Pineda, CEO of Orizon, "since we started, one of the pillars of our strategy has been to generate innovation capacity and talent in the region, both cornerstones for creating wealth in new technologies. That is why, Pineda notes, the consolidation of this course gives young professionals a value and specialisation that is hard to obtain at other institutions, puts Alicante on the global map of technology excellence and, moreover, ensures stable employment because, unlike other technologies, it is a stable, evolving environment with prospects for the future."

Since 2020, the UA has had more than 1,500 STEM graduates and is one of the universities investing most in specialised training in these fields, in contrast with the national trend of falling enrolment in this area.

According to Amparo Navarro, rector of the UA and president of the Alicante Science Park Foundation (PCA), "the UA's fruitful collaboration with Orizon is a clear example of our commitment to knowledge transfer and to working closely with companies to meet their needs. This commitment is reflected in the drive behind our Science Park, which Orizon has been linked to since 2019, and which identified this training need and helped organise the course, now taught by the company at the PCA's facilities."

Navarro explained that the UA Science Park "is a great innovation ecosystem that supports companies with high value-added services, through collaboration with our research groups, recruiting talent among our students, or working together to design specialised training tailored to companies' needs. In this respect, and in addition to all the training we carry out together, Orizon stands out for its involvement in university internships and in supervising final degree and master's projects, becoming a solid path into employment for students and a clear example of putting university talent to work."

The Alicante Science Park currently has 52 associated companies that work closely with the UA, "whether on R&D projects carried out with research staff, by taking in interns, supervising master's theses or industrial doctorates, or by hiring graduates", the rector adds.