Kaplan Professional the final piece for Nick Winter 

For the nine years Nick Winter has been on contract with South Australia, he’s had study to keep himself busy outside of the game. He believes his latest course – BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management – through leading online education provider Kaplan Professional will be the final piece for his career post-playing.

Having relocated from Canberra to Adelaide for cricket without much of a network in place, study has always been a go-to pastime for Nick and it grew in its importance to him during the pandemic-affected summer.

“Over the last 12 months study became more vital, not in the way of having a back-up plan but especially during the Big Bash it was a bit of a mental alleviator with the time spent in the hubs,” he said”

“For the Big Bash one I didn’t go home to Adelaide for two months, so to really be able to dive into my studies was hugely important.

“I think if I was in the team hotel for two-three months watching Netflix or playing PlayStation the whole time, I would’ve gone mad. My study with Kaplan Professional was really timely to take my mind off of cricket.”

Nick says the course through Kaplan Professional felt as though it was tailor-made to fit in with his life as a professional athlete.

“It was a completely different way of studying to the traditional lectures and classrooms that are often part of a university degree, and that suited me as there were no real time constraints.

“Each week you send in your task for the week and your larger assignments when they’re due, but there was no set time you had to be online for a lecture or anything, which provided that added flexibility.

“This was great, particularly during Big Bash when some days we were traveling or in hubs it was tough to stick to a schedule, so having that flexibility was really, really handy.”

Nick has been proactive in attaining qualifications that he hopes will set him up for a leadership position in the sport-business industry.

“The course with Kaplan Professional was fantastic in terms of my leadership and development.

“I’ve done an international relations and politics degree and I’ve done a graduate certificate in business administration, too. The idea being that this course with Kaplan Professional was the icing on the cake or the final piece of the puzzle, so to speak, given I’ve learnt how to manage myself, other people and workplaces.

One of the biggest takeaways for Nick from the course with Kaplan Professional though is he was told not to discount the skills he already has from his chapter as a professional cricketer.

“I was told that businesses pay several thousands of dollars for their staff to undertake team building exercises or leadership training and you’ve been able to experience that first-hand as part of being a cricketer, and to not undervalue the teamwork and adaptability skills I already have too.”

Nick was awarded a scholarship with Kaplan Professional through the ACA & Kaplan Australia Partnership and has successfully completed his BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management.