Sydney, 30 May 2018: The Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA) are delighted to welcome PageGroup as the Official Recruitment partner of Australia’s Rugby players.The RUPA-PageGroup partnership will provide Australia’s past and present professional players with access to industry-leading expertise and training programs, designed to highlight, strengthen and leverage the transferrable skills players develop whilst playing professional Rugby for their next careers.“We’re thrilled to align ourselves with PageGroup and give all Super Rugby and Sevens members access to their first-class programs, personal development opportunities and networks,” RUPA Chief Executive Ross Xenos said.“As with all of our partnerships, PageGroup’s expertise will substantially bolster the support we can provide our members as we continue our commitment to making playing professional Rugby in Australia the best holistic experience it can be. We also know players who are actively and meaningfully engaged off the field perform better on it, and driving success to optimise players’ careers is front and centre in this partnership too.”Each of Australia’s professional programs (Super Rugby and Rugby Sevens) will be offered PageGroup training sessions which include, but are not limited to, personal branding, communication styles, leadership, identifying transferrable skills, CV, writing and interview preparation and identifying career opportunities.PageGroup specialists will also address all of Australia’s rookie players at the annual RUPA Induction Camp this December.The partnership was sparked by the success of former Brumbies player Francis Fainifo, an engaged member of the RUPA Past Players Alumni who works for PageGroup in their Canberra office. Fainifo’s overwhelming success in the role has seen PageGroup identify a number of his transferrable skills, such as a commitment to celebrating success, teamwork and leadership, as attractive assets in future employees and there is a genuine desire to “Find more Frankies!” according to PageGroup ANZ Regional Managing Director Matthew Gribble.“Career transitions can be challenging for anyone, let alone professional athletes who retire from the one role they have known and still have the majority of their working life ahead of them,” says Matthew.“We believe that, through this partnership and by virtue of our extensive experience in being a trusted adviser to job seekers around the world and connectors of people, we can help in RUPA members more successfully navigate this transition.“PageGroup is proud of the industry-leading training we provide and we look forward to extending our services to members of the Super Rugby and Rugby Sevens teams, both during their rugby career and once they’ve decided to launch an alternative one.”PageGroup is one of the world’s most recognised names in recruitment, a market-leading specialist recruitment company which has been operating in Australia for over 30 years and retains a national footprint across their seven Australian offices.A 40-year-old London-listed company, PageGroup has more than 150 offices globally and operates through three internationally recognised and respected brands; Page Executive, Michael Page and Page Personnel.The Rugby Union Players’ Association is the representative body for Australia’s approximately 200 professional players, in both Super Rugby and Rugby Sevens squads. Furthermore, RUPA is proud to represent the Wallaroos, Western Force and non-professional National Rugby Championship (NRC) players as Academy members.-END-
