- Programme has already received regional and national recognition
- Aligns with global strategy that places talented people at the heart of business success
Basingstoke, 15 October 2019 – Tech Data (Nasdaq: TECD) has brought the next cohort of apprentices on-board at its Basingstoke offices, giving 13 young people the chance to forge a career path in the technology channel.
The new starters entered the initial induction programme last month (September). They will be given three months of classroom-based training before gaining their initial experience working in a sales team, overseen by appointed mentors.
Over the next 12 to 15 months they will go through a carefully-planned programme that will include sales training, product training, systems knowledge, CompTIA certification and an Outward-Bound team-building course in the Lake District in December.
The apprenticeship will give them all the essential skills required to become fully-fledged members of the Tech Data team, delivering great service to customers, said Sandie Jackson, Apprenticeship Programme Manager at Tech Data.
“Customer obsession is absolutely key to Tech Data and that’s something we focus on very strongly in the apprenticeship scheme, along with Tech Data’s core values – integrity, excellence, inclusion, accountability and collaboration. All of those qualities are vitally important to helping young people succeed in the workplace.”
Although this is only the second year of Tech Data’s apprenticeship scheme, it has already been recognised nationally, coming 60th in the overall Rate My Apprenticeship awards and third in the regional award.
Several of last year’s cohort have already progressed to take-up posts within different parts of Tech Data, including Advanced Solutions, Tech-as-a-Service, the Apple team, and Maverick AV Solutions.
Sandie Jackson is hopeful that this year’s cohort will be even more successful. “We have made good progress last year and learned a lot. We have already made some improvements and we expect to see even better results with the 2019 new recruits.
“It’s very rewarding and energising to see young people being given a chance to be challenged and to learn and grow in what, as we all know, can be a very tough environment. For them, it is just the start of what we hope will be an exciting and ultimately, very rewarding journey.”
The UK apprenticeship programme also aligns with Tech Data’s global strategy to continually invest in the development and retention of talented people, which it sees as the cornerstone of its success and ability to add value to customers and partners.
Picture: Sandie Jackson, Tech Data.