| In an exciting new initiative between Winners Recruitment and Womensport and Recreation
Victoria (WSRV), a program is being launched that sets to unlock the potential that sports
women have to offer Australian business.
 John McCaskill
Sports women do it tough. If the media covers a female athlete, sporting prowess seems to
take second place. That’s if it gets coverage. Without coverage, many young women fail to
secure lucrative sponsorship deals. This means that unlike their male counterparts in sports
such as AFL, female athletes work full-time jobs and have to train in their own time. By
stepping in and assisting them early in their sporting careers, this is the situation that
Winners Recruitment is trying to help young sportswomen avoid.
As a co founder and Director of the Australian Sports Leadership Network, John McCaskill
(Director of Winners) is a keen advocate and promoter of leadership in sport, skills that he
sees highly applicable to today’s hardware business. This program prepares the athletes by
means of career assessment, job preparation, recruitment and placement. Winners then will
include a summary of the athlete and her desired career direction for prospective employers
to consider.
The employer and athlete assisted by Winners, meet and agree on a meaningful career path
for the benefit of both parties, and the company then has a grateful committed employee
working in a relevant skill area. There is a small placement fee of $2,000 which is paid as a
donation to WSRV. Meanwhile, a potential champion Australian athlete is able to pursue her
sporting dream knowing she has a meaningful career balanced in conjunction with sport. As
a specialty provider, Winners Executive Recruitment undertakes middle management to
senior level recruitment, executive search and sales force strategy and development. Clearly
focused on specific market sectors, Winners is well recognised as a major provider of
Recruitment Services in these areas. It is this personal approach that enables Winners to
specifically target candidates that not only fit organizations, but will stay with that business.
What this initiative sets out to do, is create partnerships that see sportswomen working for a
company as they follow their sporting passion. Then, when their sporting careers are over,
they continue the career path already started with the business that supported them while
they played.
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WSRV members are not members of the Australian or Victorian Institute of Sports, so some
train without the regular assistance of a structure support service. Many of the athletes have
tertiary or vocational qualifications however many are concerned about what they will do
when the sporting life is over.
Through psychological, aptitude and skills testing, the Winners Team can work with the
sportswomen to work out what careers they are suited to, what they would be most able to
work within 'and then place them in suitable businesses. If this happens early in their career,
they are able to give their energies to not only their sport, but also a business where they
have a future.
Recently, WSRV conducted a survey with its members which highlighted that the desire for
relevant “real” employment is one of their highest priorities. “Concern over career options
and direction is consistently in the top five issues,” said Angie Wilson, Project Officer for
Womensport and Recreation Victoria. “If Winners can help alleviate that, everyone’s a
winner. Where Winners will be of greater assistance, is as a negotiating body between the
employer and the athlete, to ensure that she has the flexibility to devote time to her sporting
and training commitments.” For more information visit: www.womensport.com.au.
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