Researched and written by Faculty at International Coach Academy. October 2014

Transcription

1 Page 1

2 Researched and written by Faculty at International Coach Academy October 2014 Disclaimer: The information in this paper was correct at the time of writing. Accrediting and Certifying organizations change their criteria and processes regularly so please make sure you verify any information with the organization itself before taking action. Page 2

3 Introduction Although coaching is now an established and credible profession throughout the world, it remains an unregulated one. So unlike psychologists or doctors there is no one accrediting or regulating body for each country, or even globally. In fact, quite the opposite there are numerous global and local accrediting and certifying bodies, often in the same region or city all competing to be the one accrediting body that coaches and clients look to for quality measurement. In addition you sometimes have coach training schools themselves setting up accreditation or certification of their own programs. It is no wonder then, that new coaches can get confusing when trying to navigate their way through to a certification. This whitepaper is intended to help you navigate your way through the accreditation and certification maze, hopefully it is all very clear but if not, feel free to contact one of our ICA Program Advisors because not only are they experts in this area, they have been where you are now. They can look at your specific situation and connect you with the accreditation and certification path that is right for you. ICA Enrolments Team (Certification & Accreditation experts) Page 3

4 Why Accreditation? General Training Most countries in the world divide their training into two categories accredited and non accredited. Accredited training is training that is qualityassured and recognised either nationally or internationally by some formal body. Non accredited training is training that has not undergone any external analysis or scrutiny. It is designed, taught and evaluated by the training provider. It is impossible to say conclusively that all accredited training worldwide is better than non accredited training because there are too many variables including type of training, type of student and type of course (long or short, online of face to face etc.) For example a Masters degree is different than a short course on How To Use Your ipad. What we do know to be true however, is that in the coach training market training and especially amongst courses designed for people wanting to either change careers or add professional coaching to their current skill level, accredited coach training is by far the best option. Benefits of Accreditation in Coach Training There are many benefits to seeking out an accredited training provider if you are considering coach training: 1. Coaching Is An Unregulated Market This means that anyone, regardless of qualifications, background or expertise, can open a coach training school. This makes the profession more susceptible to sub standard training, and increases the importance of choosing an accredited school Page 4

5 2. The ICF Accreditation Process Is Rigorous And Lengthy It requires schools to map the learning outcomes of their program against the core coaching competencies of the ICF and demonstrate how they are met. It also looks at the quality of the school as a whole which involves scrutiny of Faculty and an assessment of the quality of the student policies and procedures. Then every two years a full audit is undertaken where the ICF follow the pathways of a select handful of students all the way through the learning process from enrolment to graduation. In other words it is impossible to go through this process with no knowledge of teaching or learning, let alone an advanced knowledge of coaching. 3. Corporate and Individual Clients Increasingly Seek ICF Coaches In the same way as prospective students seek out quality training providers, companies and clients are also looking for an easy way to ensure quality when they employ coaches. Increasingly they look for ICF credentialed coaches, which means that if you are considering coach training you increase your employment or revenue possibilities by being ICF credentialed. Why We Chose ICF Accreditation ICA has been around as a school since 2001 and was the first Australian based school to be accredited by the ICF. We have been a global school since day one and made the decision to accredit with the ICF over our local Australian based system (RTO & Cert IV) and over other global alternatives (IAC, WABC) for very specific reasons: - The ICF were, and continue to be the most established peak body in coaching worldwide. With chapters in many countries around the world they offer the most global service to date. - Coaching is a global profession, meaning coaches can source their clients from any country in the world. Provided they speak the same language and can learn how to use there is no reason to service only a smaller, local market. Page 5

6 Accreditation & Certification Bodies There are an ever increasing number of organisations and certifying bodies in the coaching industry, and the number keeps growing as coaching establishes itself in more and more countries around the world. We have chosen to highlight the organizations we believe do the most to support coaches, and are the most well recognized by clients. We have also selected those we see as the most globally relevant. By this we mean that they have good representation throughout the world and provide good support if you are considering sourcing your clients from countries other than your own. (which you should be since coaching is not limited to your local neighbourhood) The table on the next page Accrediting & Certifying Bodies in Coaching Summary Table summarizes our selected Accrediting and Certifying bodies and lists their unique credentials and quality measures. It is also worth keeping in mind that depending on where you live there can be many more local associations and peak bodies to choose from. These can vary in usefulness depending on your niche and goals. In any case we believe that a local coaching association should not be your ONLY choice for alignment when it comes to certification and accreditation. Rather a local association can add value to your chosen global body. Page 6

7 Accrediting & Certifying Bodies in Coaching Summary Table Organization Members Accreditation & Certification [ICF] International Coach Federation The ICF is the largest and most global professional association for coaches. It is also most widely recognized both by individuals and companies alike, as the leading professional association for coaches. Measurement tool: ICF Core Competencies 132 Chapters in 34 countries plus a growing number of virtual chapters. The ICF credential individual coaches via 3 levels of individual credential - MCC (Master Certified Coaches) - PCC (Professional Certified Coaches) - ACC (Associate Certified Coaches) The ICF accredit training programs via 3 levels: - ACTP (Accredited Coach Training Provider) - ACSTH (Approved Coach Specific Training Hours) - CCEU (Continuing Credit Education Units) [IAC] International Association of Coaches Established up by Thomas Leonard (the original founder of the ICF) to offer a proficiency based alternative to the competency based approach the ICF employ. There are no minimum training or coaching hours, it is 100% skills & knowledge based. 800 active members worldwide The IAC Certify Individual Coaches as IAC Masteries Practitioners. They don t endorse any particular coaching school or program, however schools and mentors can be licensed to use the IAC Coaching Masteries as part of their curriculum and training methodology. Measurement Tool: IAC Coaching Masteries [EMCC] European Mentoring and Coaching Council The EMCC is the lead peak body in Europe with affiliate chapters in most countries. It exists to develop, promote and set the expectation of best practice in mentoring and coaching. Measurement Tool: EMCC Competency Framework 5,000 members in 67 countries The EMCC offer European Individual Accreditation for individuals and the European Quality Award (EQA) for training providers. They offer these at 4 levels: - Foundation - Practitioner - Senior Practitioner - Master Practitioner [WABC] Worldwide Association of Business Coaches à WABC are an international professional association dedicated exclusively to the business coaching industry. Measurement Tool: Professional Standards for Business Coaches Information not available WABC provide credentialing for individual coaches and accredits coach training programs. They offer Designations for Individual coaches via 2 levels, WABC Affiliate Member and WABC Full Member. WABC offer Qualifications for Programs Page 7

8 International Coach Federation The ICF is the largest and most global professional association for coaches. It is also most widely recognized both by individuals and companies alike, as the leading professional association for coaches. There are three pathways for application to the ICF for a credential. They all require various amounts of coach training, coaching hours and mentoring hours. The following section outlines the criteria required for each ICF credential, and the recommended ICA program and accreditation pathway for prospective students. Page 8

9 ACC & PCC Credential Options ACC (Associate Certified Coaches) According to the ICF The Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Credential is for the practiced coach. ACC ACTP Path ACC ACSTH Path ACC Portfolio Path Completion of an entire ICF Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP). Coaching log demonstrating 100 hours (75 paid) coaching experience with at least 8 clients. Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA). At least 60 hours of coachspecific training through an ACTP or ACSTH program. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching to be documented on your online application. Coaching log demonstrating 100 hours (75 paid) of coaching experience with at least 8 clients. Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA). At least 60 hours of coachspecific training with robust documentation. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching to be documented on your online application. Coaching Log demonstrating 100 hours (75 paid) of coaching experience with at least 8 clients. Performance evaluation (audio recording and written transcript to be uploaded with your application). Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA) PCC (Professional Certified Coaches) According to the ICF The Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Credential is for the proven coach. PCC ACTP Path PCC ACSTH Path PCC Portfolio Path Completion of an entire ICF Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP). Coaching log demonstrating 750 hours (675 paid) of coaching experience with at least 25 clients. Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA). At least 125 hours of coachspecific training through an ACTP or ACSTH program. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching to be documented on your online application. Coaching log demonstrating 750 hours (675 paid) of coaching experience with at least 25 clients. Performance evaluation (two audio recordings and written transcripts of coaching sessions to be uploaded with your application). Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA). At least 125 hours of coachspecific training with robust documentation. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching to be documented on your online application. Coaching Log demonstrating 750 hours (675 paid) of coaching experience with at least 25 clients. Performance evaluation (two audio recordings and written transcripts to be uploaded with your application). Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA). Page 9

10 ICA Recommended Programs and Pathways for PCC & ACC Coaches The program and pathway you choose to pursue will be highly dependant on your personal background and future goals. Our Program Advisers are the best people to talk to regarding your options, but just to give you an idea we would use the following broad criteria to make a recommendation: - Coaches with substantial coaching experience (Emerging) - Those just starting out with minimal paid coaching experience (Established) Page 10

11 1. Pathways for Emerging Coaches An emerging coach is someone with little or no coach training and very few coach training hours under their belt. ACTP Pathway We recommend the ACTP pathway because it is the most direct and cost efficient route. It does not require you, as the coach, to make any additional submissions to the ICF or incur any additional costs. Mentor coaching and Peer coaching are both included in our ACTP programs at no extra cost The ACTP Pathway is also good for coaches with few paid coaching hours since they hours our Peer Coaching program is extremely valuable. The ICF recognizes the ICA Peer Coaching Program as barter (ie paid) hours, so it can be used to meet the coaching hours criteria Recommended International Coach Academy Programs Advanced Coach Program or Certified Coach Program ACSTH Pathway We do NOT recommend the ACSTH pathway for the following reasons: - you will require mentor coaching at an extra cost - you will require performance evaluation at an extra cost - you will have limited opportunity to gain extra coaching hours Portfolio Pathway In addition to the cost or Mentor and Peer coaching you will also have to undertake the lengthy and rigorous process of demonstrating that the competencies of your chosen training program map across the ICF core competencies. This is extremely time consuming and requires expertise in curriculum development. In addition to the robust documentation you also need to complete 10 hours of Mentor Coaching. Page 11

12 2. Pathways for Established Coaches An established coach is someone who has coached in some capacity before and has substantial coaching hours ACTP Pathway For the same reasons we recommend this pathway to emerging coaches, we also recommend it for established, but for different reasons. For established coaches this is the quickest pathway to PCC credential, and if you have 100 coaching hours or more we would recommend you skip the ACC application and go direct to PCC. Recommended International Coach Academy Programs Advanced Coach Program or Certified Coach Program or Bridging Program ACSTH Pathway There is no reason we can think of for an experience coach to apply to the ICF via the ACSTH pathway. If you meet the following criteria you can apply via the ACTP pathway by enrolling in our Bridging Program - Over 100 hours coaching experience - Over 60 hours previous coach training experience (must be with an ACSTH provider) The ICA Bridging Program provides experienced coaches the ability complete 72 hours of ACSTH training with us, and then apply for a credit review for their previous training. This then enables you to combine both lots of training hours and apply via the ACTP pathway. Portfolio Pathway As mentioned in the ACC section this is an unnecessarily painful pathway and not at all recommended for experienced coaches. Page 12

13 ICA Recommended Program and Pathway for MCC Coaches MCC (Master Certified Coaches) MCC ACTP Pathway 200 hours of coach-specific training. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching. Coaching log demonstrating 2,500 hours (2,250 paid) of coaching experience with at least 35 clients. Performance evaluation (two audio recordings and written transcripts of coaching sessions). Complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA) unless previously passed when applying for ACC or PCC. Our Recommended Pathway There is only one recommended pathway for MCC ACTP Pathway MCC applicants must have completed 200 hours of accredited coach training and have completed 2,500 hours of logged coach training. It is not possible to choose an ACSTH or Portfolio path. Recommended International Coach Academy Programs Advanced Coach Program With our Advanced Program students can complete the necessary Mentor coaching hours required at this level. They can also make up the additional coach training hours via extra mentoring. In addition the Peer Coaching program allows Advanced students unlimited access to barter coaching which is recognized by the ICF as paid coaching. Page 13

14 Page 14