ADECCO AND THE NATIONAL OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEES OF FRANCE SIGN NEW AGREEMENTS TO PROVIDE THE ATHLETE CAREER PROGRAMME
Adecco Group, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions , further demonstrates its commitment to life-long excellence for elite athletes. Today in Paris, Groupe Adecco France and the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF) renewed the agreement to deliver the Parcours Athlète Emploi (Athlete Career Programme – ACP) to French athletes. For the first time an agreement was also signed with the French Paralympic Committee (CPSF).
Since 2005 and 2007 respectively, the Adecco Group has been working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to implement and grow the Athlete Career Programmes on a global level. The aim of the two cooperations is to support elite, Olympic and Paralympic athletes in their transition from sport to the labour market through career training and job placement. The Programmes provide athletes with key resources in education, life skills and employment. Since 2005, more than 15,000 athletes from over 100 countries have been involved in both Programmes. Agreements between National Olympic and Paralympic Committees and Adecco organisations have been in place since the global launch in 35 countries on five continents.
Today’s renewal of the Parcours Athlète Emploi with the CNOSF will last until 2016, the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio. For the first time this year, the French Paralympic Committee (CPSF) will also extend the ACP to French Para-athletes.
“Sport plays a special role in our Group. As the leader in Human Resources solutions, we are very proud to cooperate with the national Olympic and Paralympic Committees of France offering our expertise and skills to elite athletes for their professional development”, explained Alain Dehaze, Regional Head of the Groupe Adecco France.
“The transition from sport to their next professional career is a crucial moment in the life of elite athletes. Totally devoting themselves to their disciplines, they very often do not have time to plan for next steps beyond their professional athletes’ life”, remarked Denis Masseglia, President of the CNOSF. “We want to guide them in their transition, and the renewed agreement with the Groupe Adecco France is testimony of our common wish and ambition for our athletes”.
Emmanuelle Assmann, President of the CPSF said: “We are keen to increase the autonomy of people with an impairment, and their inclusion in the labour market is absolutely key to achieving this. We are very pleased about this cooperation with Groupe Adecco France, which will take into consideration the specific traits and skills of elite and Paralympic athletes while guiding them to transition into the business world.”
Among the many athletes that benefitted from the Athletes Career Programmes is French fencing Olympic champion Brice Guyart, who stated: "The ACP came at the right time for me because I had to choose between various options for my next career and did not want to make the wrong decision. The interviews with my ACP coach helped clarify where my skills and aspiration lay."
Swiss bobsleigh champion and Olympic medallist in Sochi, Alex Baumann also took part in the ACP: "For me it was always important to have a second plan and not to be completely reliant on my sports career. The internship I got through the ACP was an ideal flexible solution to get experience in the labour market and led to a full-time position allowing me to compete at the highest levels and work at the same time. I learned about my transferrable athlete skills and traits like discipline, dedication, persistence, ambition and motivation to master challenges and opportunities in the working world.”
To achieve life-long excellence for athletes, the IOC Athlete Career Programme has been delivering workshops as part of the Youth Olympic Games’ Culture & Education Programme (CEP) at the Summer and Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to 14 - 18 year-old athletes.
In line with the Group’s long-standing association with the sporting world, in May 2014 Adecco Norway teamed up with the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first national sponsor of the event. In addition to its sponsorship, Adecco will provide its expertise to the Organising Committee in building its team toward the Games, as well as assisting with the recruitment of 2,500 volunteers who will be crucial to the success of the event.
For more information about the IOC and IPC Athlete Career Programmes please visit:
Click here for the full ACP story of Brice Guyart
Click here for the ACP video of Alex Baumann
Click here for more athletes’ stories