Adecco Finland increases cooperation with Olympic athletes
The Finnish Olympic Committee and Adecco Finland Oy announced a new and stronger partnership agreement.
The new agreement deepens the already solid cooperation with elite Finnish athletes. The focus in the future will be placed on increasing the effectiveness of measures aimed at finding new paths for employing elite athletes, both during and after their sports careers.
"Many athletes who have educated themselves for a civilian career would benefit from flexible trainee-type employment even before the end of their sports careers. Flexible terms of employment allow athletes to gain work experience without risking their sports career. This new agreement will allow Adecco and the Olympic Committee to start building the necessary corporate networks. Cooperation between the Sports Academies and Adecco will also be increased at the local level by supporting the work of sports academy coordinators," comments Adecco Finland's HR Director Virpi Ojakangas.
Adecco has cooperated with elite Finnish athletes since 2004. The international IOC – Athlete Career Programme has already assisted more than 300 athletes as they move from elite sports into 'civilian life'. So far, the agreement has been renewed during each new Olympiad, but last spring the Finnish Olympic Committee and Paralympic Committee agreed on an extension until the end of 2020.
In addition to the Athlete Friendly Company network, the agreement offers the opportunity to utilise various HR services in order to make the Olympic Committee's own activities more effective. These services include expert recruiting and different types of aptitude assessments.
"Reinforcing our cooperation with a commercial partnership agreement is a natural step for us. Here at Adecco, we're only interested in commercial partnerships that support our corporate values and contribute to creating trustworthy customer relationships," said Adecco's Country Manager Ketil Kjeldsberg.
He emphasised that the new agreement makes it possible to provide better support for elite Finnish athletes and coaches in challenging career issues.
"We're also excited about beginning to cooperate with the Olympic Committee in other matters related to HR services," added Kjeldsberg.
Mika Sulin, who is responsible for fund-raising at the Finnish Olympic Committee and Valo, Finnish Sports Confederation, was satisfied with the new agreement.
"The cooperation developed with Adecco has provided many of our top athletes with excellent work experience and career guidance," said Mika Sulin.
Markus Kalmari, the Director of the Olympic Committee's Sports Academy Programme, emphasised that cooperation with Adecco also strengthens sports academy activities.
"This outstanding cooperation allows us to strengthen a vision that sees Finland as being clearly the best Nordic country in 2020 in terms of supporting athletes in dual careers and as they make the transition from sports career to working life. We're very grateful to Adecco Finland for the passion and participation that they have demonstrated in supporting athletes," said Markus Kalmari.
Further information:
Virpi Ojakangas, HR Director, tel. +358 050 386 9862
Mika Sulin, Managing Director, tel. +358 40 527 8101
Markus Kalmari, Director of Sports Academy Programme, tel. +358 400 334 453