Mainframe Academy - Leicester

Please note: The start date for this role will be January 2027.

If your initial application is successful, you will be invited to complete online assessments plus a brief video interview. If you are successful at these stages, you will be invited to attend an assessment centre on Thursday 19/11/26 OR Friday 20/11/26

Annual salary: £26,000

Are you looking to start a career in Technology? Do you have a passion for learning and problem solving? Do you want to work as part of a team and have a strong desire to grow and develop? Then our Mainframe Academy is the place for you!

Let’s talk numbers. When it comes to UK retail, it’s hard to find a bigger name. We sell thousands of items an hour and are expanding our e-commerce business by the second. For anyone in Tech, this is the place to learn. To grow. And to thrive.

About the Academy

At the heart of all our systems lies the Mainframe and we are looking for great people to join us! Guiding you from a complete beginner to IT professional, the Academy will match your natural aptitude with the technical skills and soft skills you will need to progress to a Mainframe Developer.

The Ecommerce Ordering, Finance, Stock and Pricing and Warehouse Departments within Next Technology all use Mainframe systems to deliver exciting projects that contribute to NEXT’s ongoing success.

Our aim is to develop you to a professional Mainframe Developer , when you’ll then be able to perform all elements of the role including:

• Involvement in the full lifecycle development including analysis, design, deployment (etc)
• Providing analytical and programming skills across Mainframe platforms, translating business requirements into code
• Developing new concepts, testing, deploying and supporting the multitude of applications used by our business.
• Utilising AI tools to supplement and enhance analytical and programming skills.
• Proactively improving existing skills, taking on new technical skills as appropriate, and continuously seeking to expand business knowledge.
• Working closely with other departments in tech to improve cross-team resolution of issues.
• Being flexible to provide additional support when required by project work, key events, peak periods etc.

About the programme

The initial 12 months focus on the fundamentals of Mainframe, where you’ll receive structured training, as well as applying your new skills with exercises and projects. The classroom learning sessions are mandatory.

If successful after the initial 12 months, you’ll then move into one of our teams , where you’ll continue to build your experience with on the job learning and objectives, supported by advanced training as a trainee developer.

The programme will consist of sessions with our Technical Trainer and from our Subject Matter Experts. These will be complemented with online learning to achieve Badges and Certification from IBM. You will complete sessions and assessments in common coding languages including, but not limited to, JCL, COBOL and DB2.

There will be various individual and group projects during the programme for you to demonstrate your understanding of the topics covered.

You will be provided with a timetable of sessions and the locations they will be held.

Initially this will be on a 12 month Fixed Term Contract basis moving to a permanent position following successful completion of the first year of the programme.

In order to get the most out of the Academy, you’ll need to be prepared to work hard and use your initiative to upskill yourself alongside the training that we’ll give you.

Are you a perfect match?

• You will be passionate about technology and driven to learn to code.
• You will have an aptitude for problem solving.
• You will enjoy challenges and be naturally inquisitive.
• You will have strong communication skills with well-balanced analytical skills.
• You are a team player who thrives in a fast paced, busy and challenging environment.

Benefits