RL: In the war against the Year 2000 Bug, this is Boot Camp. Seven weeks, 6 hours a day, volunteers seeking new careers.
STUDENT: "I had to take a chance and go and see."
RL: They get a crash course in the old programming language COBOL, and emerge as trained bug-killers with lethal finger tips.
WILLIAM STONE, STUDENT: "I thought that this would be a great opportunity to gain experience that's so hard to come by in today's market"
RL: The University System of Maryland has a catchy way of describing its Y2k Fellowship programme,
DON LANGENBURG, UNIVERITY SYSTEM OF MARYLAND: "It's like the GI Bill, without bullets" "First do something to solve the Y2k problem and then we'll get you an education that will carry you on from there".
RL: That "Work Now, Learn Later" pitch lures applicants from all backgrounds. Some just starting out, others looking to switch careers in midstream. They all have to pass a tough aptitude test to get into this class, and then they must learn how to find, and fix, the corrupting dates in old computer code.
This young woman was an office manager, He made furniture, He worked in retail. Soon they will be Y2k specialists in high demand.
STUDENT: "I took a big risk leaving my job to do this but its definitely worth it".
RL: Over 40 companies have lined up to interview them, each willing to pay not only a salary and the $4000 boot camp fee, but also willing to contribute to a tuition fund. So the Millennium Mercenaries can go back to school if they wish. once the bug is banished.
WILLIAM STONE, STUDENT: "It's not a bad deal at all".
RL: Justin Kelly was a waiter, now he's a Y2k programmer, an analyst at Baltimore Gas and Electric. The father of two small children. he was under some pressure to get his career in gear.
JUSTIN KELLY, STUDENT: "Yes. Yup, as a matter of fact I was. But this is a crisis and I'm here to take advantage of it and get my foot in the door".
RL: But can someone really come in and start debugging a mainframe after just seven weeks of training?
BILL SMITH, BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY: "Quite honestly, the level of training that they have received is sufficient for the task that we need them to do".
RL: In Annapolis, where they are fixing Maryland's Capitol Dome, they're also hurriedly debugging the State's massive computer system. Tax records, Car Tag receipts, it's all in here and all vulnerable.
RL: Abdul-Mutaal Bilal, a recent Boot Camp graduate, is part of the rescue squad.
ABDUL-MUTAAL, STUDENT: "This opportunity popped up. I took full advantage of it. I think its a great stepping stone for me".
RL: So far, about 100 people have graduated from Marylands COBOL Boot Camp and joined the battle against the Y2k bug. The University System hopes to train 400 additional warriors by next January.
ERIN NICHOLSON, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF MARYLAND: "We really do feel like it's a wonderful situation for everyone involved in the Fellowship Programme, the Companies, The Students and the University System".
RL: For all the problems it has caused, the Y2k bug does appear to have at least one beneficial side effect, it causes the spontaneous outbreak of new careers.
Rick Lockridge, CNN, Baltimore, Maryland.