DURING his 20-year career as a national thrower, James Wong lost much sleep thinking of life after sport.
Now, thanks to a new programme that provides career training for athletes, Singapore's sportsmen and sportswomen are likely to sleep better.
The Athlete Career Programme (ACP) is the result of an agreement signed on Friday between the Singapore National Olympic Council and Adecco, an employment services company.
The programme is sanctioned by the International Olympic Council. Singapore is the 18th country to take it up, and the first in Asia to do so.
Under the ACP, athletes are given career counselling, taught how to write resumes, and even ace job interviews.
They are also taught how to network, and will be given short-term stints at companies under the guidance of mentors.
Lessons are tailor-made for individuals, and could range between seven and 15 hours, depending on an athlete's schedule.
'The idea is not to let athletes get to the end of their careers without knowing what to do with themselves,' said Patrick Glennon, director of Adecco's Global Athlete Career Programme.
More than 1,000 athletes in countries like Italy, New Zealand, Spain and the United States have benefited from the programme since its launch two years ago, according to Glennon.
The programme is expected to be available in Singapore within a month.
Wong, a multiple South-east Asia Games gold medallist for Singapore, said: 'I wished I had something like this when I started out in athletics.
'I could have planned wisely, and known in advance what I wanted to do.'
The 38-year-old, who retired from his sport last year, is now a lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management.
'A lot of our athletes do not have the practical skills to make the transition from a sporting career to a professional one,' said Chris Chan, SNOC's secretary-general.
'The programme is free, and I hope our athletes will come forward to support it.'
The council will be working with the various national sports associations to encourage their athletes to sign up.
The ACP was designed originally for Olympic athletes.
In Singapore's case, all those training for, or have taken part in major competitions like the Commonwealth, Asian and SEA Games, are eligible.
