KUALA LUMPUR − A total of 48 former national athletes have completed courses in either Sports Science Level 1 or Certificate in Hospitality Operations in a bid to ensure a better post-retirement life.
Of the total, 27 sat for the Sports Science Level 1 course while eight from the Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) and 13 members of the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) completed the Certificate in Hospitality Operations.
Both courses were organised by Yakeb, MSDeaf and the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) in cooperation with the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp).
“I am confident that these courses are very beneficial as the participants can acquire knowledge about the service sector, namely, hospitality and culinary, which will enable them to be independent.
“If we look at them, they come from various fields of trade, including that of a barber, food outlet operator as well as Grab driver and burger seller,” said HRD Corp chairman Datuk Seri Jamil Salleh.
He said this when met by reporters at a ceremony to hand over certificates to the participants, which was also attended by Yakeb chairman Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed and PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin at Yakeb, Bukit Kiara here today.
Meanwhile, Noorul said Yakeb is urging all the participants who sat for the Sports Science Level 1 course to take the Sports Science Level 2 course to be conducted by the National Sports Institute (NSI) in June.
“NSI will open the registration for the Level 2 course and we strongly encourage them to take up Level 2 and, subsequently, Level 3 to complete the Sports Science course,” he said.
Kelantan FC chief coach Rezal Zambery Yahya, who took up the Sports Science Level 1 course, said it afforded him knowledge as well as a new perspective, adding that he planned to take up other courses being offered in the future.
“I strongly encourage former athletes to take the opportunity to sit for courses related to their fields because, to me, life after retirement is quite different.
“We must grab opportunities like this because they can help us in whatever sector we venture into later,” said the former national footballer. – Bernama, March 30, 2022
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