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Bunker and lubricants supplier OW Bunker, has announced that 10 new recruits have been selected to join its international training programme. The intensive course, which takes two years to complete, will begin on 1st August 2008.

According to the company, the programme falls in falls in line with OW Bunker's commitment to set new benchmarks, drive progression, and improve levels of performance and professionalism within the industry.

Speaking about the initiative, Götz Lehsten, OW Bunker Vice President, said “Bringing people in from outside the bunkering sector, with a broad knowledge of business, helps to bring fresh ideas, new ways of working and a sense of diversity into the industry.”

The programme is also part of OW Bunker’s approach to succession planning by investing in talent at a strategic management level, as well in sales to drive the overall growth of the business.

The 10 trainees come from all parts of the world, including Singapore, Shanghai, Korea, Spain, Germany, Denmark and South Africa. The young candidates have been chosen based on their ability and potential, and have been selected from both the bunkering industry, as well as some of the world’s leading business schools.

The two-year course will involve training the candidates in sales, products and markets, skills and system tuition, risk management plus a comprehensive education programme on the OW Bunker brand, its values and its position within the market.

For a six-month period, which they will spend abroad, the trainees will also conduct courses on innovation and look at the potential for new opportunities in bunkering and trading, as well as learning about different business styles, cultural diversity, and new propositions; the foundation for the future growth of the business.

Lehsten added: “I am delighted that we are embarking on the second round of trainees, which proves the success of the initial programme. The current global economic pressures and the impact on shipping and globalisation have ensured that bunkering is playing an even more important role within business. It is therefore vital that we have the best people in the industry that have the ability to understand bunkering in its wider business context and to provide customers with solutions that improve their enterprise performance and levels of profitability.”