THREE young trainees have passed through OGL Computer's STAR training programme and are now fully fledged members of the Stourport on Severn firm.

During the company’s first ever STAR course – which stands for sales, training and reward and started in April last year – James Cook, aged 21, of Stourport, and 19-years old David Cole and Michael Mann, aged 29, both from Worcester, were mentored and intensively trained in all aspects of IT sales. All three shone throughout the trainee period and are now beginning fully fledged IT sales roles with the company.

The trio had very little or no sales experience and no knowledge of the IT industry at the beginning of the programme, but all showed a flair for good communication and excellent people skills. Mr Cook is now working as part of OGL’s new business sales team, Mr Cole is working with customers using OGL’s flagship software product, prof.ITplus and Mr Mann has moved into OGL’s account management team.

Sam Byrne, sales director at OGL Computer, said: “James, David and Michael were three of 111 people who applied to join our STAR programme last April. Competition was tough but they each stood out and we could see they would fit in well at OGL. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and welcoming place to work and it’s testament to their hard work that they have each progressed so well.

"We celebrate our 40th year in business this year and are delighted that our staff body consists of newcomers to the IT industry as well as long-servers who have been with us since the beginning. It’s this blend of youth and experience that drives us forward and ensures we stay ahead of the competition.”

With the trio vacating the STAR Team, the recruitment process was opened again before Christmas for new recruits. On January 4 Elysha Bourne and Isaac Simmons joined the company and will take the same path as the first cohort of STAR trainees and develop into fully-fledged IT roles in the future.