The Athletes’ Commission of the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) held its first business psychology workshop last month – an innovative programme designed to provide athletes with practical steps for their professional and personal development.

Young Greek athletes attended the first business psychology workshop, which aimed to help them find the optimal balance between training and learning. During the first session, they discussed the practical use of ”transferable skills” to address the challenges associated with career development and employability.

The HOC programme will highlight the personal skills athletes have learned from their day-to-day sporting experiences and use them to identify potential professional competencies. Participating business sponsors are supporting the process.

The inaugural session of the Dual Career Programme (DCP) took place at the HOC headquarters in Athens, with the attendance of 40 junior, elite and Olympic athletes. The business psychology workshop was organised by the HOC Athletes’ Commission – which is chaired by Olympian Voula Kozompoli – and conducted by business psychologist Dr Stephen Benton, a pioneer in the field from the UK.

The DCP aims to help athletes strike an optimal balance between training and learning while also pursuing other opportunities alongside their sporting careers, such as employment, internships or entrepreneurship.

The primary objective of this session was to discuss the athletes’ attributes and the skills they have developed during their athletic careers that can be associated with career development and employability.

Athletes had the opportunity to learn about the transferable skills they frequently apply within their daily and competitive training environment. These skills can be recognised as key competencies in the wider career landscape.