The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Adecco Group, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions, open the 7th Athlete Career Programme (ACP) Forum, starting today in Lima, Peru. Their joint aim is to help elite athletes worldwide to successfully prepare themselves and move on to new careers after their sporting lives.

Between May 26 and 28, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Peru will be co-hosting around 85 participants from 37 countries. Those attending will include athletes, members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission and NOCs, IOC sponsors and Adecco representatives. All will gather to exchange knowledge and best practices on achieving life-long success for the world’s elite athletes both on the field of play and in their later careers.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the IOC ACP in cooperation with Adecco Group. By the end of 2014, the Programme had reached out to more than 22,000 athletes from 180 countries, providing them with key resources in education, life skills and employment.

Supporting athletes in the sports arena and beyond is a key goal for the IOC, as further emphasised in its adoption of the Olympic Agenda 2020. Adecco for its part is keen to boost diversity and inclusion in the work environment bringing companies and elite athletes together. As part of the employment pillar, Adecco shows elite athletes how to transfer the unique skillsets and assets acquired during their sports careers into the labour market. Companies, meanwhile, gain access to world-class employees who will show the same commitment and determination to excel in whatever they do, as they did to become top athletes.

“For me, it was always important to have a second plan. As an athlete you rely on the health of your body, knowing that it can change from one moment to the next”, said Alex Baumann a Swiss Olympic silver medallist in bobsleigh, who joined the programme in 2012 and has a Master degree in Food Science. Through the ACP, he found an employer in the food industry willing to allow him a flexible work programme adaptable to his training and competition schedule. Watch other Olympians’ ACP stories here.

New tools and services for athletes who start planning for their career transition will be unveiled and made available during the Forum and put into practice on Friday, May 29 in a training session for Peruvian athletes.