500 professional athletes from across the world of sport, including Manchester United, West Ham, Harlequins, and Surrey County Cricket Club – as well as members of sporting organisations including The FA, The Premier League, The Rugby Players’ Association and The Professional Cricketers’ Association – have been given free access to an online training course in financial markets trading to help keep them mentally fit during the shutdown.
The course is provided by derivatives trading company OSTC, through its education delivery subsidiary, ZISHI. The organisation has opened up the 500 free places on the course to provide athletes with an opportunity to build the foundations for a new career outside of sport and learn to trade in financial markets.
Giving athletes a real challenge and positive outlook during global sports shutdown, where they can use their transferable skills and work towards a goal, also aims to help them take care of their mental health and wellbeing.
The Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Financial Trading provides an industry-leading level of training and covers the core knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to succeed in the trading profession. Key elements of the course will be delivered remotely to sportspeople over the duration of the UK lockdown period, with an option for participants to complete a 2-week face-to-face conversion section to attain the full qualification.
ZISHI already works with elite-level athletes at clubs such as Saracens RFC, Ospreys and Chelsea FC.
In recent years, increasing numbers of sportspeople have made the shift into financial services. The “soft skills” required for a career in trading – notably calmness under pressure, problem-solving skills and the ability to think quickly and critically – mean those from a sporting background are often ideally suited to a career in financial trading.
Commenting on the launch of the initiative, Rob Russell, Global Head of Professional Qualifications at ZISHI, said: “We’re truly proud to be able to offer this opportunity to athletes across the UK. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty for sport across the UK, from the grass roots to the elite level. Now more than ever, clubs are underlining the importance of providing athletes with educational options outside of sport and we’re thrilled to help deliver that, for free, to the nation’s sportspeople whose careers are on hold during the pandemic.”
“We’ve seen incredible interest in the program since we opened it up and if that continues, we’ll explore the option of offering additional free places to sportspeople beyond these initial 500 in the coming weeks.”
Dale Brunton, Head of Education & Welfare at Luton Town FC, comments: “In these unprecedented times we feel it is really important for our staff and players to keep focused on their mental and emotional well-being as well as keeping physically fit. Personal development is a great area on which to focus during these times both in terms of current career development as well as preparing for transition out of the game.”
Jack Clifford, Harlequins & England Rugby International player and one of the course participants, commented: “I spent a day with OSTC experiencing a sample of their development programme first-hand. From that small introduction, I can appreciate the comparisons of behaviours required to succeed in sport and trading. This definitely sparked an interest and desire to learn more. OSTC opening up this programme to support development for athletes off the field has been gratefully received at this time”.
Sports clubs interested in ZISHI’s offering should contact Robert.Russell@theZISHI.com for more information.
