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The Austrian Post AG has launched a new employment model aimed at talented winter sports athletes. In collaboration with the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), seven athletes will be employed in post offices, where they can work up to 20 hours per week. This model aims to combine professional practice with a sports career. Employment with the Post provides athletes with a predictable income base and stable conditions, which are significant for many during a crucial phase of their careers. Additionally, the Post offers flexible working hours to accommodate the training and competition phases of the athletes.
Cooperation for More Stability
Roswitha Stadlober, President of the ÖSV, emphasizes the importance of this cooperation for the sustainable support of the athletes. She states, „The combination of financial and social security, along with the necessary flexibility for training and competition, creates exactly the stability that top-level sports require.“ Stadlober highlights that especially in the sensitive transition phase between youth and elite sports, a supportive environment is necessary where education and sports complement each other.
Peter Umundum, Deputy General Director of the Austrian Post AG, describes the collaboration as a „win-win situation.“ The young athletes gain stability through employment, allowing them to focus on their training. At the same time, the Post benefits from new branch employees who can flexibly support the team. Umundum, an enthusiastic athlete himself, sees supporting the athletes as an important contribution to promoting sports.
Michaela Schmidt, State Secretary for Sports, emphasizes that successful elite sports also require perspectives beyond the active career. She refers to an internationally recognized model that has already benefited more than 400 athletes. Schmidt views the involvement of the Post in this model as a strong signal for the future of Austrian sports.
Integration of Sports and Profession
The new model of the Post focuses on the compatibility of profession and elite sports. In addition to the individual support of the athletes, the branch operations are also strengthened through additional support at high-traffic locations. Currently, seven young athletes from the disciplines of alpine skiing and ski jumping are part of the program. These athletes are at the beginning of their international careers and are simultaneously undergoing intensive training and competition programs.
Niklas Bachlinger, a 24-year-old ski jumper from Vorarlberg, expresses positive sentiments about the opportunity to combine profession and elite sports. He emphasizes that the flexible collaboration and social security provide him with the necessary security to focus on training and competitions.
The supported talents include Emilia Herzgsell, 20, an alpine skier from Salzburg, and Felix Endstrasser, 22, an alpine skier from Tyrol. Also part of the program are Hannah Wiegele, 24, a ski jumper from Carinthia, and Johannes Pölz, 20, a ski jumper from Vorarlberg. Meghann Wadsak, 18, a ski jumper from Vienna, and Pia Hauzenberger, 20, an alpine skier from Upper Austria, complete the group of supported athletes.
