Nature and Nurture: Component Sense’s Commitment to Nurturing Young Talent

Since its beginnings in 2001, Component Sense has championed the development of young talent. Our company has a rich history of youth support: from offering paid placements to university students; to hiring recent graduates; to training younger colleagues through to the executive level. We know how important it is to support our team and help them become the best versions of themselves. We therefore make sure to provide our young team members with excellent training, flexible working hours, and an encouraging team environment. Grant Rutherford, our Chief Technology Officer, exemplifies Component Sense’s commitment to its youngest staff. Grant joined the company in 2008 as a twenty-year-old university student in Business Studies and Computing Science. What was initially a way to earn money became a true passion for Grant: he was receiving real-world experience and learning applications to complement his studies; he was helping to create a process-based working system for the company; and he enjoyed working with Kenny, Component Sense’s founder.
Grant Rutherford, Component Sense's Chief Technology Officer.
Grant has been a key player in expanding the business from Kenny’s living room to the international company it is today. He is now a shareholder and director of Component Sense! Despite having received many competitive offers over the years, Grant chose to stick with Component Sense. “I believed in the concept of the company,” he says, “and I loved the people. Plus, Kenny and I gelled well in terms of working style. We’re a great match!”
Morag Dine (Communications Executive); Jake Roberts (Stock Controller); and Lisa Dinning (Quality Control Inspector).

As the Component Sense team grows, there are even more youthful success stories. Our Warehouse Team includes Lisa Dinning and Jake Roberts. Lisa says that the “flexibility provided by management was amazing, especially when I went back to study.” Lisa has worked with Component Sense on and off since the age of 18 (she is now 29) and knows that her colleagues support her decisions and want her to do well. Alongside her is Jake, who is 20 years old. Jake is currently halfway through his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and finds his job with Component Sense helps him to feel stable during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. He is also “improving important skills, like communication and teamwork” and he knows that “regardless of my university timetable, Component Sense is always there.”

Component Sense's IT Team: Grant Rutherford (CTO); Andrey Tsarev (Web Developer); and Martina Bilyanska (Junior Web Developer).
Grant is joined in the IT department by Andrey Tsarev, and Martina Bilyanska, both of whom became members of the Component Sense team at young ages. Martina started working with us during her studies in Computing Science and Statistics and has grown from her first role as an intern to a junior web developer. Here is what Martina says: “Our company environment encourages growth, making development so much easier! With my journey at Component Sense being so enjoyable, my job title progression was not just a series of goals: it came naturally.” Andrey is a similar example of achievement. Having joined the company during his university studies, Andrey says that Component Sense’s EPIC team values were crucial to his continued learning. “As a team,” says Andrey, “we strive for innovation and often explore innovative technologies and methodologies. This helps tremendously to think creatively and keep your skills up to date.” Component Sense is proud to be a company which values young talent so highly. We know that whilst younger team members might need a little more support or training, they invigorate and fuel our business. We believe in the power of nature and nurture: this means hiring young team members who fit our company culture and helping them to become exceptional employees through training and development. This commitment is an ongoing process, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for our young team. Are you interested in joining the Component Sense team? Why not look at open vacancies and see if you are suitable for a role with us. We look forward to hearing from you!