IBM (International Business Machines) has announced that it wants to help prepare the next generation of business and IT experts with online resources designed to educate students about hot technologies -- at no charge.

Six current offerings of the company are meant to provide students with access to tutorials, forums, games, and other resources. The offerings are also meant to help them develop marketable skills in hot job areas such as enterprise computing, Web 2.0 programming, and database management, claims IBM.

Additionally, through the Student Portal on the IBM Academic Initiative Web site, students can access a three-step tutorial on 'Service Science Management and Engineering' (SSME), a new academic discipline that brings together ongoing work in the fields of science, engineering, and business management, combined with the study of social and legal sciences. The SSME resources are aimed to prepare students to take advantage of a growing field of "hybrid" technology jobs that require multi-disciplinary backgrounds, such as environmental engineering, information analysis, and urban architecture planning.

Explaining the purpose of these training programs, IBM says that with progressive globalization, companies are looking for employees that offer deep technical knowledge and a broad understanding of business dynamics to help them expand into new markets. With support of statistics, IBM declares that IT will continue to be one of the fastest growing sectors. In addition, new global employment opportunities are expected to emerge based on the demand for integrated business and technology skills.

Apart from SSME, other no-charge resources namely Database Technology, Situational Applications and Web 2.0, Web Server Technology, Team-Based Development, Enterprise Systems, and Skills Certification and Job Opportunity Database are available.

People can get more information on IBM's Student Opportunity System here, and information on the company's Certification program here.