Ash Taylor Building a Career on and off the Field

A footballers career is an exhilarating one, just ask Ash Taylor, half-back for the Gold Coast Titans. In the 2018 season Ash achieved 17 try-assists for the team and his pre-season lead-up this year indicates he is one to watch, evident in his commitment for ongoing improvement. 

But like many elite sporting careers, football careers often run short and players can find themselves hanging up their boots with no other skills to fall back on. 

This is where the Queensland Government’s pilot program, Elite Sportsperson Apprenticeship & Traineeship (ESAT), has stepped in. The program aims to support elite athletes, who have long training hours and scheduled games or competition events, into apprenticeship training opportunities with companies that can work around their sporting commitments. 

Ash is excited to be one of the first elite athletes to sign up to the program, commencing a part-time Carpentry Apprenticeship with Koryzma Constructions. 

“I’m grateful for Koryzma Constructions for giving me this opportunity. It’d be great to make a lifetime career out of football but it’s important to have a back-up plan as there are limited opportunities in the industry once you finish playing the game. I’ve always been interested in building and actually started a school-based apprenticeship in carpentry back in 2011, before football took over”, Ash stated.

BUSY At Work is the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) provider who has signed up the apprenticeship opportunity and Ash’s Carpentry Apprenticeship training will be delivered through Building Industry Training. 

“BUSY At Work and Building Industry Training, have made the whole process easy and we are looking forward to having Ash on board”, Shannon Koryzma from Koryzma Constructions stated. 

Paul Miles, Managing Director at BUSY At Work further stated “It’s exciting that Ash Taylor, an incredible athlete, is one of the first to be involved in ESAT, a worthwhile program for athletes that allows them to diversify skills and earning capacity throughout their lifetime. Ash is the third elite athlete that BUSY has signed to part time construction-industry apprenticeships and we are proud to be pioneering this pilot program. We look forward to following Ash’s career, both on and off the field.”