The coaching profession is a relatively new one, especially in this country – coaching really only started to gain attention in early 1999. Compared with the counselling profession, coaching is very young and still in its formative years.
We must remember that coaching is a skill which does not involve delving into people's past, nor does it involve giving advice or making suggestions (although some coaches combine coaching techniques with other disciplines). Therefore, the chances of it causing physical or psychological harm are very slim although this is no excuse for bad coaching, which is why serious training courses for people entering the profession are important.
So, with all that said, coaching is an unregulated profession – although some might say that it is regulated by your clients… who will only hire you if you do a good job! We prefer to say that currently, coaching is a self-regulated profession.
So will coaching be regulated in the future? It's certainly a possibility and something we would fully support. In fact, The Coaching Academy has made the first step towards a possible regulation of the industry by sponsoring The National Occupational Standards in Coaching and Mentoring, the framework for future NVQs.
These standards provide a benchmark by which employers will be able to judge the quality of coaching delivered and we expect all training providers who care about the standard of coaching delivery to educate their students to a level that allows them to do this.
Needless to say, The Coaching Academy courses exceed these National Occupational Standards and our students can feel confident that they are fully equipped for any regulation of the profession in the future.
The Coaching Academy, as the leading coach training provider in the UK (some nine out of 10 trained coaches in the UK trained with us), would be consulted on any steps in this direction and we, in turn, would consult with you – our coaches.
Accreditation
Literally, accreditation means the giving of approval or credit by an awarding body. There is no one awarding body for coaching qualifications and most companies have their own internal qualification. The ones that carry the most weight are those who ask an external academic body to review and approve this internal qualification.
The Coaching Academy does exactly this and is accredited by the Open College Network at their highest level and the Open and Distance Quality Council. This involves our training courses being audited and assessed on a regular basis. No other coaching organisation has two external academic accreditations – which demonstrates our commitment to providing qualifications that carry weight with future clients.
The Personal Coaching course is also Approved Prior Learning for two universities, one in the Midlands and one in the South, which again emphasises the weight of the training course that has defined learning outcomes and a carefully considered syllabus.
These accreditations mean that the courses we run are robust, serious qualifications that carry weight with future employers of coaching.
As qualifications in coaching become increasingly important, The Coaching Academy aims to always be at the forefront of the profession and will always add to courses as new coaching techniques evolve.
Governing Bodies
Despite what you might have heard there is no such thing as a governing body for coaches. There are more and more self-appointed bodies – some are run voluntarily and some are profit making – but none have any official status. There is unlikely to be one UK or worldwide body for coaches for some years, but should this ever happen, because of The Coaching Academy's position as the market leader for coach training, it would not be unexpected for us to be influential in its development. It may be worth remembering that the counselling profession after many years does not yet have one governing body.
To summarise, coaching is currently self-regulated, but organisations like The Coaching Academy are custodians of the future of coaching by shaping the practitioners of coaching in this country and abroad. It is a responsibility that we take very seriously and we consider the future of coaching to be in very safe hands.
Accreditation and Endorsement
The Coaching Academy is accredited or endorsed by the following academic and commercial organisations:
The Open and Distance Learning Quality Council
The Institute of Leadership & Management
|
