As many as 32 athletes aged between 16 - 22 years attended the first edition of the IOC Athletes Career Programme Workshop, organized by the Indian Olympic Association in New Delhi on 9 December 2018, with support from IOC Athletes Commission, International Olympic Committee and The Adecco Group. 

Being organized for the first time in India, the day long ACP Workshop aimed at preparing young elite athletes, providing them with the resources and training required to overcome the challenges of handling dual career and career transition when their sporting career is nearing an end. The workshop helped young athletes in understanding how skills as an athlete can be transferred to increase excellence in an academic or workplace environment, while providing opportunities to develop new skills. Designed to support athletes by means of self-assessment and future planning, the ACP helps provide tailored options depending on the individual athlete to ensure that they are aware of opportunities available, whether the goal is to develop new skills, take on further education, develop a new career path, or a combination of them all. 

IOA Secretary General Mr. Rajeev Mehta said, “Competitive sport is more challenging now and the requirements of athlete support should also change with time. ACP is a well-designed programme that helps athletes in their journey to be equally successful in both sports and career. IOA would be organizing ACP workshops in various cities across India and introducing more such initiatives in the coming year.” 

The Workshop was conducted by IOC educated ACP Educators and Olympians, Ms. Anjali Bhagwat and Ms. Jovina Choo. A team of Adecco officials guided the athletes on interview skills, CV, etc. Athletes from Boxing, Wrestling, Shooting, Cycling, Football, Fencing, Judo, Athletics, Lawnbowl and Archery attended the Workshop. Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Hockey 5s Silver Medallist, Vivek Sagar Prasad said, “The ACP educators have helped us athletes decode the confusion in choosing between sports and education, life skills, networking, prioritization, etc.” Parents who accompanied the athletes appreciated this Programme, which is a first of its kind in India.

At the end of the Workshop, President of the Asian Tennis Federation and Vice President of the International Tennis Federation, Mr. Anil Khanna gave certificates to the young athletes and applauded the efforts of IOA. 

About Athletes Career Programme: The Athlete Career Programme (ACP) is a service provided by the IOC Athletes’ Commission and is run in conjunction with National Olympic Committees and The Adecco Group, one of the world’s leading providers of Human Resource solutions. The IOC Athletes’ Commission, the International Olympic Committee and The Adecco Group have been working together since 2005 to create and deliver the IOC Athlete Career Programme (IOC ACP) to help elite athletes achieve success while they prepare for and go through their career transition. The IOC ACP is delivered nationally in more than 35 countries across five continents in cooperation with Adecco country organisations and the National Olympic Committees (NOCs). To help make the benefits of this programme available to all Olympic and Olympic-hopeful athletes, the IOC ACP formalised its Outreach Programme in 2009, providing hands-on workshops in more than 75 additional countries.