After two years as an Apprentice at Lincoln City, midfielder Jack McGovern was given the news that all players dread when he was told that he was to be released by the Club at the end of the 2007–08 season.
Despite the obvious disappointment, the news of his release put things into sharp focus and he soon started planning for a secondary career away from football.
Three weeks after the expiry of his contract with the Red Imps, Jack was heading in a new direction via an Apprenticeship with Aaron Services, a company that has offices across the East of England and specialises in the installation of new heating systems and the servicing and maintenance of systems in around 50,000 homes throughout the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and East Anglia.
Now well into a programme that will see him become a fully qualified Gas Heating Engineer, Jack combines his work placement with Aaron Services with day release attendance at Lincoln College where he undertakes further theoretical and workshop learning in topics such as key plumbing principles, common plumbing processes, cold water systems and electrical supply and earth continuity.
Jack states;
“While I love football it became apparent that I needed to make some decisions about a future away from the game. I’ve always been a hands on type of person so this opportunity was one I jumped at. I’ll now hopefully come away with new qualifications that will set me up as a Gas Heating Engineer.”
Now well on his way to securing a new future career Jack has a message for all Apprentice footballers;
“I’ve landed on my feet with this opportunity but not everyone will be as fortunate. It’s important that you don’t leave things to chance. I can’t stress enough how important it is be thinking about the ‘what to do next’ question just in case.”
“The Progression events organised by LFE present Apprentices with the chance to start considering what possible answers to that question might be and with opportunities to move in new career directions, they should not be wasted!”
