For most PNG elite athletes, there is nothing else for them to turn to after years of active participation in sports and the glamour and glory on the field.
But, that however, is no longer a concern under the Athletes Excellence Program which is supported by the Institute of Business Studies (IBS) through the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC).
The programme aims to offer elite PNG athletes the opportunity to obtain educational qualifications through the IBS Diploma and Certificate courses.
These educational qualifications will contribute to their development as individuals and lead them into a successful professional career after their sporting endeavours.
The Executive Director of IBS, Edward Silva said IBS believes in the development of Papua New Guinea’s human resource and their contribution to this is by providing quality education to its people.
“This country can be a leading economy in the world if its human resource can be developed, and IBS is trying to be part of that journey by taking the knowledge base into the next level,” he said.
“This is the main reason why IBS wanted to be in the business of academy and education, but we wanted to be different, we do not want to be limited to this kind of activities only.
“We wanted to give opportunities to more young people to get a good education to develop their own careers in life,” Silva said.
He said life after sports for the elite sports men and women of Papua New Guinea is now an area of focus for IBS as they aim to develop their capacity as the country’s human resources outside of the sporting arena.
“We believe that the sportsmen and women are the shining stars of any country.
“While IBS provides educational services, sports is something that can bring the morality of the people up and this can further develop the human capacity of our people,” Silva said.
He said IBS in its corporate social responsibility like to take into account the welfare of athletes in their life after sport.
“They spend most of their young life running for the gold medals but they can only do that up to a stage, after that they will have to find how their life will go on,” Silva said.
Together with the PNGOC, we are confident of the Athletes Excellence Programme which will greatly benefit the athletes.
The Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee is committed to ensuring that PNG’s elite athletes are not only successful on the field of play but also in life.