By Colin Tung/Red Sports

Sport Singapore Spex Business Network

Mr Teo Ser Luck (second from left), Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, poses for a photo with representatives of the six new corporate members of the spexBusiness Network. (Photo 1 courtesy of Sport Singapore)

Sport Singapore, Thursday, July 31, 2014 — National athletes under the Sports Excellence (SPEX) scheme can now look forward to internships, apprenticeships, job placements and flexible workplace practices with six more companies under the Sports Excellence Business (spexBusiness) Network for Athletes.

The six companies — Amore Fitness, Borneo Motors Singapore, DBS Bank, Deloitte Singapore, DHL Supply Chain, and Sakae Holdings — join seven existing ones to take the total to 13 under the scheme, which was launched last November to drive the Sports Excellence Career (spexCareer) scheme, which aims to help athletes cope effectively with the dual demands of sports and career.

Deloitte counts top national shuttler Derek Wong as a recent hire. Derek, who recently won Singapore’s first badminton silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, joined Deloitte as a research specialist in their clients and markets department.

Derek said, “I am thankful to [sic] Deloitte’s tremendous support and this work opportunity that has allowed me to work flexibly from home around my training and competition schedule. Full-time athletes like myself will be able to continue to give 100 percent in the sporting field when we know that companies are extending their arms out so that we will not need to worry about future career plans.”

Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Teo Ser Luck, said at a doorstop interview, “It is important for the majority (of athletes) to pick up a new skill, whether it is in sales, marketing, operations, IT or in other areas. Not many can make a living on their own name as a former sportsman.”

Mr Teo, who also chairs the High Performance Sports (HPS) Selection and Performance Sub-Committee, also unveiled the inaugural spexBusiness Advisory Panel comprising of seven industry leaders. Headed by Ms Tan Yen Yen, regional vice-president and managing director, Asia Pacific (South) for SAS Institute, the panel’s main role will be to ensure the successful implementation of the spexBusiness Network for Athletes.

The panel will provide inputs, independent advice, professional knowledge and domain expertise on all matters relating to the network to the HPS Selection and Performance Sub-Committee.

Urging companies not to view hiring national athletes as an act of charity, Mr Teo told the 24 companies in attendance at the networking session for the spexBusiness Network for Athletes that these athletes have qualities that are valuable to companies.

Deloitte’s talent partner, Ms Seah Gek Choo, said, “Having employee diversity is an important facet of Deloitte’s talent strategy and we now have access to a wider talent pool through our partnership with Sport Singapore. We also value certain attributes in our people and we find that athletes have all of these and more. High performance is a state of mind, and it translates into the corporate world too — high performing athletes on the whole are able to deliver high level work performance.”

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