Overview
Providing early career Performance Support practitioners a bespoke blend of personal and professional development opportunities, the AIS Practitioner Development Program (PDP) will support practitioners to discover themselves, themselves in their roles and how they best contribute to multidisciplinary teams.
Through a combination of individual and group-based learning, practitioners will develop the tools and strategies to evolve from being purely, enthusiastic and intelligent individuals to becoming effective and impactful world class practitioners.
The program will cover a range of topics such as:
- Understanding personal strengths and how to leverage them
- Building new skills, knowledge and awareness to work effectively and collaboratively in high performance teams
- Proactive career management, decision making and reflection
- One-on-one career action planning with an expert career coach
- Effective communication and storytelling skills
- Practical and evidence-based tools to support Practitioner Wellbeing
Objectives
The AIS PDP was an insightful way to improve my skills in collaboration, networking, and self-reflection, and provided valuable guidance for career progression.
2022 program participant
The small group size, excellent facilitators, and interactive approach make for a learning-rich experience at the in-person workshops. The content covered provided learnings that are both immediately actionable and that will deepen over time. On top of that, the genuine connections made with peers in the HP system across the country is a highlight of the program
2024 Program Participant
The program's goal of personal growth for the practitioners has allowed our practitioner to return to the program more confident in handling situations with colleagues and athletes, able to better self-support herself, and able to support athletes and coaches at a higher level to achieve the high performance objectives.
2023 Manager Testimonial
| Activity | Dates |
|---|---|
| Program launch meeting (online) – Participants only | 14 April, 11am – 12:15pm (AEST) |
Program launch meeting (online) – Managers only | 15 April, 11am – 12:15pm (AEST) |
| Strengths profiling: online survey + individual de-brief meeting | 14 April – 16 May |
| Residential #1 in-person (Melbourne) | 3 – 5 June |
| Career management session #1 (online) | 3 July, 11am-1pm (AEST) |
| Manager meeting #1 (online) | W/C 7 July |
| Residential #2 in-person (AIS, Canberra) | 29 – 31 July |
| Manager meeting #2 (online) | W/C 25 August |
| Career management session #2 (online) | 27 August, 1-2pm (AEST) |
| Residential #2 follow up session (online) | 16 September, 11am (AEST) |
| Program wrap up & evaluation | October – November |
| 6-month program follow up | May 2026 |
To be eligible for the program, participants must:
- Have less than 5 years experience in the Australian High Performance system.
- Be engaged by an ASC High Performance funded National Sporting Organisation or within the National Institute Network.
- Meet the Australian Performance Support Practitioner Minimum Standards.
- Individuals whose discipline (eg. Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement, Skill Acquisition, Sport Engineering & Sports Intelligence & Analytics) do not have minimum standards are still encouraged to apply.
- Be endorsed by their manager.
- Be available for all program dates
Program details
- Participation in this program is free with catering provided, however participants are expected to cover the cost of any travel, accommodation, ground transport and meals outside of the workshop to attend.
- This program will be capped at 15 participants.
- The practitioner’s manager will play a key role in supporting their applicant’s participation in the program by supporting DTE applied learning and attending semi-regular managers’ meetings to stay informed of recent program progress.
- Managers will have the opportunity to connect with program facilitators to help with their individual understanding of the content delivered and how to best support their applicant in applying their new learning in the DTE.
- Applicants will need to provide a short statement of support from their manager that can confirm their role, high performance system experience and their ability to support the applicant in applying their learnings throughout the program.
How to Apply
- Ensure you meet the eligibility criteria
- Ensure you are available for the program launch meeting, in-person residentials and online sessions
- Read the Terms and Conditions below
- Confirm your Manager’s support
- Collate short statement of support (250 words max.) from your manager that can confirm your role, high performance system experience and their ability to support you throughout the program.
- Complete the application form
- In preparation:
- Prepare your resume
- Consider responses to below questions (250 words max.)
- What interests you most about participating in this program?
- Consider how will participating in this program enhance your capacity to become an effective and impactful world class practitioner?
Contact
For further information, please contact Jessey Visakan, Performance Support Development Advisor – jessey.visakan@ausport.gov.au