CONTEXT & METHODOLOGY The EU needs to facilitate veteran athletes in their efforts to utilise the skills they acquired in their career in sports so as to succeed in other sectors of the economy as entrepreneurs or employees. Despite the fact that the sports sector comprises a rapidly and steadily rising section of the EU labour force representing more than 1.7 million people (Eurostat, 2018), the EU has so far not managed to ensure that this workforce will enjoy a smooth transition after retirement from the sector to (self)employment and/or entrepreneurship in other domains. What is missing, so far from EU efforts is a tailor-made to the athletes’ needs strategy that can teach them how to “translate” the skills and competences they developed in the sports sector into skills and competences that can be applied in selected domains in which veteran athletes have the greatest potential to succeed as employees or entrepreneurs. Veteran athletes have a remarkable potential to thrive in business and entrepreneurship. The set of soft (or transferrable) skills they have acquired during their sporting careers has had a formative impact on their personality, which in turn can become crucial for setting up, maintaining and expanding a successful career in several competitive sectors. Soft, transferable skills like leadership and team spirit, goal orientation and determination to name a few are crucial for building a professional career or entrepreneurial success. On the other hand, this set of skills - although present as a ‘way of life’ for athletes - lacks the appropriate orientation to be translated into professional, entrepreneurial and business skills. Hence, there is a missing link; a process of training that will act as a mediator and facilitator for athletes to re-orient already available soft skills, coupled with business-specific, additional skills to bring them to the level of entrepreneurial actors. OBJECTIVES The project’s main objective is to develop an innovative training approach for veteran athletes that will a) transfer the skills veteran athletes acquired during their sports career into skills useful for their success in the entrepreneurial and business world, and b) provide targeted support for veteran athletes who aim to become successful professionals in the labour market or entrepreneurs. This objective encompasses the following 4 specific objectives: 1. Match-make the mind-set, attitude, skills, competences of veteran professional athletes (of all different types) with the needs businesses have in soft skills in different sectors of the economy and develop guidelines on how the transfer of skills can take place from sports to other sectors . 2. Develop the learning materials and instruments that veteran athletes will use to transfer their skills to their new careers. 3. Ensure the practical hands-on applicability of the approach through pilot training sessions. 4. Develop policy recommendations to ensure the wide diffusion of the approach in the EU. TARGET GROUPS Primary: - Veteran/retired athletes - Active athletes looking for a new career post-retirement - Sport clubs/organisations - Veteran athletes clubs/organisations Secondary: - Active athletes - Entrepreneurship coaches/consultants - Professional development organisations/bodies (VET, adult, other) INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS O1 - BOUNCEBACK Match-making Tool, coordinated by the University of Pannonia O2 – BOUNCEBACK learning materials and platform, coordinated by Militos O3 - Handbooks and Pilot training sessions, coordinated by AEK O4 - Policy recommendations, coordinated by the University of Pannonia Results & long-term impact Overall, the BOUNCEBACK project aims, via the provision of an innovative training approach, capable of increasing the rate of veteran athletes that receive adult education, to result long-term in the facilitation of the transition of veteran athletes from a career in sports to employment or entrepreneurship in other sectors. More precisely, the project aspires to achieve the following specific results: - Engaging at least 500 veteran athletes in BOUNCEBACK training processes. - Providing veteran athletes the capacity to pursue a career in at least 5 different sectors tailored to the economy of each partner country. - Ensuring the support of at least 50 stakeholders (sports associations, leagues, athletes’ associations, public institutions akin to sports, employers’ associations, chambers of commerce) to the sustainability of project activities via a Memorandum of Cooperation. - Raise the awareness of at least 120000 people from the sports sector about the BOUNCEBACK training approach and its benefits.
Overall, the Bounceback project aims, via the provision of an innovative training approach, capable of increasing the rate of veteran athletes/ active athletes that receive adult education, to result long-term in the facilitation of the transition of veteran athletes/ active athletes from a career in sports to employment or entrepreneurship in other sectors. The project aims to achieve the following specific results: • Engaging active/veteran athletes in Bounceback training processes. • Providing active/veteran athletes the capacity to pursue a career in at least 5 different sectors tailored to the economy of each partner country. • Ensuring the support of stakeholders (sports associations, leagues, athletes’ associations, public institutions akin to sports, employers’ associations, chambers of commerce) to the sustainability of project activities via a Memorandum of Cooperation. • Raise the awareness of people from the sports sector about the Bounceback training approach and its benefits.
Veteran athletes have a remarkable potential to thrive in business and entrepreneurship. The set of soft skills they have acquired during their sporting careers has had a formative impact on their personality, which in turn can become crucial for setting up, maintaining and expanding a successful career in several competitive sectors. In general the EU continues to include the need to promote education in and through sport in its plans for the development of the sports sector, and continues the advancement of athletes’ dual careers. There are in general dual career policies in place across EU member-states, but from this approach a tailor-made to the athletes’ needs strategy is missing. To address these needs the Bounceback project’s main objective was to facilitate veteran athletes in their efforts to utilise the skills they acquired in their career in sports so as to succeed in other sectors of the economy as entrepreneurs or employees and to ensure that this workforce will enjoy a smooth transition after retirement from the sector to (self)employment and/or entrepreneurship in other domains. That is why the Bounceback Partnership developed an innovative training approach for veteran athletes to provide targeted support.