I read with interest about the budding success of a programme put into place by The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), to get retiring cricketers into places of work.
The Placement and Learning Access Network (PLAN) provides ex-cricketers (20 in 2007) with meaningful work experience, training and coaching with one of a number of leading companies.
Many of these men in white/or pyjama clad, depending on the form of the game these days, are made to sacrifice academic study and personal development in favour of their playing career.
It means that when they retire, they can often struggle to find appropriate alternative employment.
The programme boasts many success stories including the placement and permanent employment of opening batsman Phil Weston who retired recently from Derbyshire. Weston joined National Australia Bank subsidiary, Yorkshire Bank, as a Business Partner.
Weston joins four other players on placement, who will no-doubt, add to company branding image.
Tim Bostock, divisional manager for National Australia Bank, said: “We’ve been greatly encouraged at how well this first round of placement worked. As a result, we are creating a formal internship programme that will be used with the players we hope will join us next winter.”
This reminds of the amateur days when sports stars would openly mix at social events after a game with a few cold ones in hand. Such meetings would more than not lead to a job placement for these sporting folk, regardless of whether he/she was suitable for the job or not.
Training would obviously be provided, and perhaps a few more sessions for prop forwards, but on most occasions, hiring a sports personality does wonders for the bottom line.
Word gets round a 50,000 seater stadium that a former captain now works at Bank X and before you know it, many had over the road to do business with Bank X and maybe even catch a glimpse of Joe Buff in a normal working environment. That was the way things were done back then.
And just because footballers have glossed over the earnings of potential sports stars with a spilt glass of Dom Pérignon, PCA's programme highlights the problem faced by so many retiring sports stars, outside of the Barclays Premiership, today.
Of course England coach, Brian Ashton, might want to take note the next time he relegates Danny Cipriani to orange peeler for doing a simple bit of PR work, albeit in a nightclub 72 hours before kick-off.
And while I applaud such initiatives, I can’t help but wonder if these past heroes aren’t often employed at the expense of perhaps someone more qualified for the job - Discrimination on past sporting ability if you like?
I see a tribunal case coming…don’t laugh there have been far stranger cases seen.
