Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
George Scott: “The PCA provides a lifeline and they’ll help you find your next career.”
Former Middlesex and Gloucestershire batter George Scott is enjoying working on the Aldi graduate leadership programme.
The 27-year-old completed an online International Business Leadership and Management master’s degree with the University of York, whilst balancing his cricket commitments, despite not knowing what pathway he wanted to pursue.
The PCA sat down with Scott as part of Futures Week, which aims to highlight personal development achievements and transition stories throughout the PCA membership.
Futures Week forms part of the PCA’s Futures initiatives, alongside the Futures Awards which recognise PCA members who have taken steps towards building a second career.
The PCA helps support players with significant educational funding to grow their personal development alongside and even after their professional career. Members can log in and find out more information.
“I wouldn’t have known how to go about finding my next role without the PCA.”
GEORGE SCOTT
Despite 82 professional appearances, Scott didn’t want to look for a new county after his Gloucestershire contract wasn’t renewed at the end of the 2022 season.
“I didn’t want to move again and I was having doubts about cricket so the decision actually aligned perfectly with the end of my master’s degree because it meant I could apply for graduate schemes.
“I wasn’t keen to drift through a county career until 35 and then have to transition into a second career. Cricketers at a young age are exposed to management and leadership, good and bad, and it affects them quite heavily in their daily lives, so that struck me as an interesting career to seek out.”
Scott applied for many graduate schemes after completing his master’s degree and was delighted when he managed to secure a place with UK shopping giant Aldi.
“I’ve started working on the shop floor to see how the operations work and then the next stage is learning how to be a store manager. That’s when I’ll learn how to order, organise rotas, adjust store merchandising patterns and how to deliver structure.
“I’ll then be working under an area manager who controls five stores and learn how to do that aspect of the role. There’ll be a month where I run a store and then if they’re satisfied with my progress I’ll get to interview for area manager roles and run my own five stores.”Scott used his PCA Personal Development Manager, Martin Cropper, to help him through the process of figuring out what career would suit him best after playing cricket.
“We went through a lot of potential career options. Martin was great at helping me with the education funding and if it wasn’t for the support of the PCA I wouldn’t have done the master’s degree and I wouldn’t be on the graduate scheme.
“If you don’t use the support at all you may fall out of a county with no direction, the PCA provides you a lifeline and they will help you find something you want to do.”
During PCA Futures Week, Scott was complimentary of the options available to professional cricketers through the players’ association and encouraged others to use the services to help their career aspirations.
“The Futures initiatives are so valuable, the stress that went into finding a new role is massive. It can be a really difficult time for people financially and in terms of mental wellbeing but the PCA will work tirelessly to get you moving again, the union really is an incredible thing that the players have access to.”
Looking forward to moving on to the next stage of the programme, Scott was keen to make other players aware not to just sit back and expect things to happen when it comes to transitioning from playing professional cricket.
“Make the most of the amazing support offered by the PCA, make sure you’re having conversations with as many people as you can. You have nothing to lose and it doesn’t affect your cricket in the endless hours you have during the winter, so I would encourage players to be proactive not passive.”
Futures Week shines a light on the area of personal development and career transition among PCA members. The two-day Futures Conference forms the centrepiece of the initiative and both are part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP). Click here to find out more.
Name of Author: Professional Cricketers Association
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey as the Cricketers’ Association, represents past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales. In the 1970s, the PCA established a standard employment contract and minimum wage for professional cricketers. It also helped create a pension scheme in 1995 and launched the magazine All Out Cricket and the ACE UK Educational Programme in 2002.
