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| 7 December 2004, 1:28 pm |
| New careers service to help sports professionals after retirement |
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| Ben Patston, Ben Jones and Matt Grove sign up to Careers After Sport |
| © John St John |
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| Northampton Saints Academy has signed up to a new service provided by Careers After Sports - a new company that intends to guide current and former sportsmen and women towards a career when their sporting career comes to an end. |
Careers After Sport announced its launch at Franklin’s Gardens last week. Careers After Sport is the UK’s first career management organisation that is totally focussed towards helping professional sportspeople prepare for and advance their careers after leaving competitive sport.
The Careers After Sport concept was envisaged and developed by Alan Dickinson and Russell Yeomans, successful executives in the field of international human resource consulting who are passionate about sport. They have linked up with Jon Sleightholme, former Northampton Saints and England winger, who provides the crucial sporting link to refine the services to meet the specific needs of competing sportspeople.
Careers After Sport will be offering two main services: 'Career Coaching’ and ‘Career Move’.
Career Coaching assists existing sports professionals by enabling them to work with an experienced career coach, supported by a detailed and highly professional online programme. The tools provided will help assessment of future career options as well as the formation and implementation of a career development plan.
Careers After Sport is unique as it only uses experienced sports professionals as career coaches – individuals who have "been there and achieved those goals" and who can therefore readily identify with the unique pressures of the client’s situation. The career coaches are specifically trained and accredited in the Careers After Sport programme, which enables them to provide first class career coaching advice. The coaches’ activities are supported by state of the art, online programmes, with proven psychometric tools and relevant practical links, to help sports professionals move from sport to their next career.
The Career Move service is a customised ‘outplacement’ offering, focused on assisting sports professionals, forced into retirement through injury, performance, age or personal choice, make a timely and successful transition into their next chosen career.
Careers After Sport is now rolling out the service offerings on a national basis across all key professional sports. The company will be aiming to provide its services to Sports professionals, clubs and associations.
Jon Sleightholme, managing director of rugby, Careers After Sport, said: “You should plan and prepare for your career after sport if you are at any stage of your sports career. In my experience in rugby, I saw many of my colleagues trying to enter the workforce in their late 20s early 30s with no work skills or experience to speak of. When I heard about the Careers After Sport idea I was keen to be involved from the start, as I know how I would have gained from the Careers After Sport offering."
Russell Yeomans, chief executive officer of Careers After Sport said: “There is pressure on the sports industry to provide an environment that encourages its members to plan for a career after competition. By embracing the Careers After Sport careers service, professional clubs will have a compelling employment offering to attract new players and reassure their existing ones - that there is life after sport.”
Yeomans continued: "It’s no longer enough just to have been a sporting name with contacts – you also need business skills and experience. Our expertise from the commercial sector, combined with the relevant knowledge and input of ex-sports professionals, will deliver an unbeatable service.”
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