A group of Carlton senior players have been presented with certificates for completing a short course in small business start-up and management.

The players – Cain Ackland, Brad Fisher, Setanta O’hAilpin, Heath Scotland and Kade Simpson – were on hand at the club this week to receive their certificates from Guy Keble-Johston, who conducted the course on behalf of the Swinburne University of Technology’s Hawthorn campus. Aisake O’hAilpin, Clinton Benjamin, Shaun Hampson, Ryan Houlihan, Ryan Jackson and Andrew Walker also completed the course, but were not available for the presentations.

Rod Ashman, Carlton’s 236-game dual premiership player and the Club’s Player Resource and Welfare Manager, said that each player had expressed a willingness to learn about small business, and took full advantage of the three-hour weekly sessions conducted over the past month and a bit.

“Courses like this one provide the players with a balance in their football lives,” Ashman said.

“And as the average life span of a senior AFL footballer is only four years, it’s also important that the players look beyond their football.”

The Carlton players are at varying stages in terms of their careers away from the game. O’hAilpin, for example, is interested in securing a certificate IV in business management, while Scotland, who is currently completing a building apprenticeship, is in the throes of developing a business model that he and his host employer can adopt.

Another player, Andrew Walker, is exploring the possibility of establishing a city clothing store, to extend the family’s country clothing store chain.

A total of 11 Carlton players have completed the Swinburne short course. A further nine players have taken on other university courses and programs.

Six more players, including Scotland, are now completing apprenticeships with the assistance of the Club, while eight more have embarked on AFLPA apprenticeships. A further three are managing their own businesses.