Athletes pursue elite sports at a formative time in life, at which, ordinarily, the groundwork is laid for a subsequent vocational career. Only very few Austrian athletes can rely solely on the proceeds from their sporting activities to secure their livelihoods beyond their active careers. Moreover, careers in elite sports are of a limited duration and can be cut short prematurely due to injuries, declining performances, or other unpredictable developments.

KADA is a non-governmental, non-profit association which strives to ensure that elite athletes have secure and fulfilling prospects for the future – by promoting the feasibility of combining sports with education or vocational training. KADA is thus not a safety net but an important partner for athletes to forge their own paths. As such, we respect and pay attention to the diverse lives and experiences of our clients. By opening up individual ways and opportunities, we demonstrate that sports and education can form a unity – after all, personal development constitutes a perfect prerequisite for success in sports. In actively preparing for a post-sport career, athletes are enabled to concentrate better on the present, thus achieving even stronger results.

We provide consulting services to elite athletes, guiding them through the process of finding a suitable educational program and supporting them in their efforts to reconcile sport and education. Our professional career counsellors operate nationwide and individually support athletes in pursuing their very own dual pathway. These services are extended to athletes representing any of the 60 officially recognized Austrian sports associations. However, specific qualification criteria pertaining to the level of performance have to be met in order to be eligible.

Moreover, we collaborate with Austrian elite schools of sport to sensitize and counsel junior athletes in competitive sports (ages 15 and up). Within the scope of these collaborations, we support schools as an external partner in preventing early educational or sporting drop outs by raising awareness for available opportunities to combine both worlds.

In addition to our consulting services, we offer a series of tailored educational programs for elite athletes, which are compatible with elite sports and encourage holistic personal development.

On an individual level, SLS, which is short for Studium Leistung Sport (“study, performance, sport”) provides elite sport-specific student counseling. On an institutional level, the program also entails organizational cooperation with numerous public and private Austrian universities to systematically increase academic flexibility with the goal of facilitating the compatibility of athletes’ training and competition schedules with their studies.

The Berufsreifeprüfung im Leistungssport (BRP) was introduced in 2012 to offer elite athletes a tailored blended learning training to access higher education. We provide prep courses for all four exam subjects (German, English, Mathematics and Sport Management). The courses are held in Salzburg, Stams, and Vienna with the latter city also being the location where the final exams are held.

Athletes who partake in the vocational education and training program A&W once more benefit from sport-specific counseling, though on the level of adult educational providers. Strategic collaborations with accredited educational providers enable athletes to complete flexible educational and vocational training offers, ranging from apprenticeships to a variety of specialized courses and diplomas.

When a sporting career comes to an end, we facilitate the integration of former elite athletes and coaches into the world of work. Due to the unique cooperation with the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS), which renders KADA as an officially recognized AMS counselling center, we dispose over excellent resources to assist in the job search. This includes occupational orientation, exit management, and support throughout the job application process.

KADA acts as an autonomous puzzle piece connecting the Austrian sport and education system and economy. Our association is funded by the Ministry of Sports (BMKÖS) and the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS). As a result, our consulting services for elite athletes are non-binding and free of charge.
Our network of partners encompasses central Austrian sports organizations, which include the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC), the Austrian Sport Aid (ÖSH), Unisport Austria and the Austrian Federal Network of Sports Psychology (ÖBS). Furthermore, KADA works with the Austrian National Sports Organization (BSO), the Military Sports Center of the Austrian Armed Forces (HSLZ), and numerous Austrian sports federations.
Moreover, Klub KADA rallies together a group of educational institutions and businesses who adopt corporate social responsibility by supporting KADA financially as well as offering elite-sport-friendly educational and vocational training programs.