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Bell Micro has announced that its Academy training initiative – currently supported by IBM – will continue into the foreseeable future, thanks to strong support from the company’s reseller and partner community, as well as the high pass rate of the scheme’s graduates.
In partnership with a select number of universities across the UK, Bell Micro and IBM proactively recruit for the Academy by invitation only. Graduates are initially invited to join following the successful completion of a series of interviews.
As applications are approved, the University graduates are then invited to Bell Micro’s Chessington facility, where they can meet with resellers and partners to discuss longer term recruitment plans.
At this point of the selection process, resellers will typically commit to ‘sponsoring’ a graduate through the programme; supporting them with a salary in return for a commitment to complete the training within an agreed timeframe.
"For individual companies, putting recruits on even the most basic training courses can be very expensive and extremely resource draining," commented Jim Chadbourne, delivery group manager for Storage at Portal Partnership. "When we first heard about the Academy, our thoughts were that it was probably too good to be true."
By working with Bell Micro in this way, businesses can also benefit from promoting ‘organic growth’ rather than facing the costly business issues that run in parallel with the IT skills shortage – such as high starting salaries and recruitment fees.
