‘Match Made in Heaven’: Reflecting on Our Relationships with Our Partners

This article reflects on the work we’ve done with the Welsh Rugby Players Association, Loughborough University, and King’s College London, and celebrates the bright future of our partnerships with these organisations and more…

 

Seamless Transitions: Preparing Professional Rugby Players for the Working World

Supporting athletes as they transition from professional sporting careers into other sectors of work is at the heart of our mission at add-victor. Speaking to Dafydd Evans, Personal Development Manager for the Association working with Scarlets, it was clear that add-victor have fostered a close connection to the WRPA that is interpersonal and mutually valuable. Daf told us that, since the beginning of the WRPA’s journey with add-victor, ‘the relationship seems to have really flourished’, with regular contact and engagement providing a secure foundation for our future work together.

Daf described add-victor as an ‘extra strand’ that makes the transition from rugby to other careers ‘as efficient as possible’

Daf’s main role is supporting players transition out of rugby into professional careers, aiming to make this progression as smooth-sailing as possible. As an ideal platform to achieve this goal, add-victor has provided Daf and the WRPA with regular meetings, workshops, and one-to-one guidance with individuals looking to progress and/or retire from professional rugby.

Looking back on the last three seasons, Daf described add-victor as ‘an extra strand’ that makes the transition from rugby to other careers ‘as efficient as possible’. Whether it be advising younger players being proactive in job-seeking for both short-term and long-term opportunities, or guiding older players in the last 6-12 months of their contracts wondering ‘what comes next?’, add-victor has been able to productively assist Daf in his support of the Scarlets. 

 

 

‘When it comes to the individual needs of players, it’s a match made in heaven’

Many professional players across a variety of sports are offered strong support systems throughout their playing careers, but this tends to drop off immediately post-retirement, Daf informed us. Alongside their recent partnership with Nuffield Health, the WRPA’s work with add-victor serves to overcome this sudden cutting of ties. As Daf commends, add-victor ‘shines’ with assisting candidates in the more difficult aspects of applications – getting an interview can be easy, but add-victor’s work is focused on candidates securing the job.

The tailored care and mentorship of players that we provide to the WRPA is in close dialogue with the rich rugby culture of Wales, allowing retiring or progressing players to harness the skills their sport has taught them as they enter other professional sectors. Our relationship with Daf and the WRPA will continue to provide crucial support to countless more players; as Daf assured us, ‘when it comes to the individual needs of players, it’s a match made in heaven’.

 

Our ‘Holistic Support System’: Helping Students Balance ‘Dual Careers’

Our work with the WRPA predominantly focuses on professional athletes transitioning into new careers, but we also have strong connections with universities, supporting student athletes navigating early careers. add-victor forms part of the holistic support system offered at King’s College London, encouraging student-athletes to nurture other passions alongside their sport, and providing them the tools with which to do so.

Ross Edmonds, Performance Sport Manager for KCL Sport and Wellness, stressed to us how important it is for students to start thinking about dual- or even tri-careers as they plan for the future. Any sportsperson is susceptible to injury, and sports funding is not reliable, so having career plans alongside sport is paramount in laying the foundations for a secure future.

This is where add-victor has been instrumental. By running workshops, aiding in CV development and cover letter writing, and maintaining frequent dialogue with KCL Sport, add-victor have encouraged a wealth of student-athletes to be proactive about their futures.

‘Student athletes can accomplish career targets without sacrificing their passions’

One example from the last year has been a graduating student-athlete who was looking at post-grad careers he could sustain alongside his fencing. The job needed to be well-paid and flexible so that he could continue pursuing his sporting goals. With the help of add-victor, they managed to secure the essential flexibility and the salary that accomplished his career targets without sacrificing his passion. add-victor ensured that the transition from university to the workplace was smooth, supporting him at all stages of the job-seeking and attaining process.

 

Collaboration with Universities: Having the ‘Best Interests of Students at Heart’

Our work with KCL has helped to support hundreds of student athletes by supplementing the support systems already in place and platforming expertise of employment sectors that their internal services are missing. Summarising his outlook on add-victor, Ross emphasised that, most importantly, our work with KCL ‘gives athletes confidence about the future’.

Loughborough is another of the many universities with which we work sustainedly to aid student-athletes transitioning into life after or alongside sport. As Performance Lifestyle and Wellbeing Officer for Loughborough Sport, Sabrina Cox, and the wider Loughborough Sport team, have worked with us to help over 400 Olympians, Paralympians, and other professional athletes, as well as students with keen sporting interests, drive towards career-oriented futures.

‘add-victor have taken the pressure off the university…they have the power of being professional’

Workshops and one-to-one sessions we have run with the students have ‘taken the pressure off the university to carry the burden’ of this aspect of their lives, Sabrina told us. add-victor’s priorities align directly with Loughborough Sport: we prioritise the skills of the student athletes, tailoring career-searches to individuals with ‘the best interests of the students at heart’. Sabrina also recognised the data-driven expertise that add-victor offer, as we harness our ‘professional power’ to instil in student-athletes the importance of engaging with their future proactively.

 

Taking Our Own Next Steps: What Does the Future of add-victor’s Partnerships Hold?

Our consistent collaboration and connection with a variety of over 130 partners keeps a space open for our constant improvement and adaptation. This year we’ve seen and heard first-hand how impactful we have been in supporting candidates in their next professional steps, with our interpersonal ethos offering a unique opportunity for sportspeople to transition seamlessly into successful careers.

2025 Exciting News: Becoming BUCS Offcial Career Platform 

Our most exciting recent collaboration is with BUCS, the UK’s national governing body for university sport. With over 150 institutions and 120,000 student-athletes, BUCS is a powerhouse in the student sporting world. By leveraging our extensive network of top employers, we’re ensuring that student-athletes across the UK have access to tailored career opportunities, expert-led workshops, and the tools to turn their sporting success into professional achievement.

As we move forward, we hope to increase our engagement and visibility within sporting and departments, as well as expanding our employer bases further afield. Daf, Ross, and Sabrina all underlined the mutually beneficial relationships that add-victor promotes with our partners, and we look forward to working even more closely with our current and our future partners to maximise the potential of sporting and ex-military candidates across the nation.

 

If you feel inspired to partner with add-victor, don’t hesitate to contact Alex Turnbull, our Head of Partnerships, Engagement and Business Intelligence, by emailing aturnbull@add-victor.com.

Olivia Griffiths