Amplexor supports search for young Belgian chess grandmaster

Over the past four months Amplexor has itself hired 15 ‘young’ employees

Leuven, 27 October 2011 – Content management specialist Amplexor is drawing extra attention to its search for new talent by sponsoring ‘Go for Grandmaster’, a joint initiative by a number of Belgian managers and chess lovers that aims to help talented young Belgians become some of the world’s top chess players. As part of its search for new talent, Amplexor has itself hired 15 new ‘young’ employees over the past four months.

Belgian grandmaster

Amplexor wants to highlight its interest in new talent by sponsoring the ‘Go for Grandmaster’ project. A number of Belgian managers and chess lovers have decided to join forces in helping talented young Belgians become some of the world’s top chess players. The project amasses funds for professionalising the coaching and support of talented young chess players.

‘Go for Grandmaster’ will give € 25,000 to the first Belgian grandmaster born in the 21st century by way of financial support to help further his or her chess career. “Like our new young employees, these talented chess players already have the foundations,” Eric Pieters explained. “Supporting ‘Go for Grandmaster’ means we can now give them the opportunity to develop their talent further.”

As part of its efforts, ‘Go for Grandmaster’ has invited Anish Giri to attend its launch at Antwerp’s MAS on 30 October. At this event, Anish Giri, who became a grandmaster in 2009 at the age of 14, making him the youngest person to hold the title of grandmaster at that time, will compete against 30 talented young Belgian players and guests simultaneously. During the same weekend ten of Belgium’s most talented players will participate in a four nations tournament against England, Germany and the Netherlands as part of the ‘Go for Grandmaster’ project.

Young talent

Amplexor goes for young talent too. Four of the 15 new employees hired by Amplexor in the past four months were recruited straight from school. The average age of the 15 new employees is 29. This is the same as the average age of the entire Amplexor workforce (excluding management, which is ‘older’) and is very low for an IT company. “Amplexor is on the lookout for young talent,” said Eric Pieters, CEO of Amplexor. “Education has undergone positive changes in recent years. As a result of this, in addition to knowing the basics, recent school leavers also have early practical experience. We then give them the opportunity to develop their talent further. We take good care of our new employees and they are soon given opportunities to do practical work. They are almost always brimming with enthusiasm, and they are still young enough to be moulded to fit the corporate culture,” he continued. “This all means they are perfectly suited to the youthful atmosphere at Amplexor. The employees even organise games and movie nights for themselves, although the titles they pick are not really quite my taste any more!”