Two of Ireland’s outstanding sports people have begun careers with Microsoft as part of an innovative Institute of Sport Career Athlete Development Programme which matches high performance athletes with employers.  Mark Christie and Stephen Campbell are the first athletes to emerge from the programme which aims to secure flexible employment for high performance athletes, giving them the opportunity to commence a career, while maintaining the unique lifestyle required for elite competition.

The Institute’s Athlete Lifestyle Programmes, which commenced in May 2008, have provided direct support to more than 200 athletes in career, education and lifestyle support. The Career Development Programme gives them the opportunity to lead a more balanced lifestyle which in turn has a positive impact on their sports performance.   It is also part of a drive to ensure that athletes develop skills for the workplace that they will use following their athletic career.

Mark Christie, a 25 year old middle distance runner from Mullingar, is currently in training for European Athletic Championships in August.

He started in Microsoft in May as a license auditor in the finance department, where he works 3 days a week, which is designed to dovetail with his training programme and supports him to compete for Ireland on the international stage.  Mark’s long term goal is to represent Ireland at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Gary Keegan, Director, Institute of Sport said, “Since May 2009, we have developed a very fruitful and highly productive relationship with Microsoft Ireland. The relationship is built upon a deep appreciation of people and the environment that is needed in order to create top performance.

“We aim to support our athletes by placing them into a high performing workplace culture that understands the challenges in becoming a podium performer. Microsoft has demonstrated a real desire to assist our athletes in managing the balance between work life and the demands of training and competition. We hope to expand our athlete career development programme in 2010 and we invite companies to partner with us in our mission.”

Both Mark and Stephen have joined the Intern Programme at Microsoft Ireland under which long-term potential is a key criterion for candidate selection.  Chosen from a pool of candidates put forward by the Institute of Sport, they went through the Microsoft Ireland selection process to assess their talents, skills, and potential.  The programme includes cross-site training, mentoring/buddy system and technical trainings.