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Wendy Buckingham / Creator, Life Coaching Professionally

How Valid Is My Life Coaching Qualification?

by Jane Jones
(West Midlands. UK)

In 2012 I completed a distance learning Life coach course with the 'Home Learning college.' The qualification title was 'EDI Diploma in Life Coaching' and I passed it with a Distinction. The qualification was at Level 3 which is similar difficulty to an A-Level.

The course is accredited by Kendal Publishing Limited under NCFE IIQ Licence.

The course duration was approximately 60 - 80 hours and comprised of 7 units of which the completed assignments were sent via e.mail to my appointed tutor to be marked personally and commented on. If I needed to speak to him in person I was able to call him, which was a great help.

I am now looking to set myself up as self employed once I have a web site and business cards sorted.

That is my story, and I hope it put you in a good picture of where I'm at without 'rambling.' I do have a question that I would really appreciate the answer or at least some advice on.

My question is this:
As far as being a 'fully qualified' Life coach is concerned, could I class myself as a 'fully qualified Life coach?' considering the standard of the course I have done. My concern is born out of the whole thing about being 'accredited' and so I am wondering if this will pose as a problem for me until I am able to fund myself to do an accredited course sometime next year, as I am unable to this year.

Hope you or someone is able to help me!

Kind regards,

Jane

Comments for How Valid Is My Life Coaching Qualification?

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Reply to 'A Personal Thing'.
by: Wendy

Agree Anna!

When it comes down to it, however good the qualifications, it's the person we engage as a coach and that person needs to be someone we feel attracted to as a coach and who is a good match for what we want from coaching.

Thank you.
Wendy

Am I Fully Qualified?
by: Wendy

Hi Jane,
Thank you for your comment and enquiry. I'll do my best to answer.

I had not heard of NCNF so looked up and it stands for Northern Advisory Council for Further Education which is an English body which accredits courses. I read the syllabus of your course and it seems to cover the basics you need to know.

When you are preparing your profile as a coach you can list this qualification - no problem. It at least shows you have had some coach specific training which is really important and give you a good level of credibility.

I do not know if this course is accredited by the International Coach Federation, or any of the other independent accreditation bodies but you could always check.

I would suggest you consider becoming a member of one of the life coaching associations listed here, so you can be up to date on developments with accreditation of courses and credentialing of coaches in the coaching industry.

And I don't see any problem with you presenting yourself as a qualified coach until such time as you meet the criteria to become credentialed by one of these associations.

Meanwhile, get out there and get some real coaching experience. Maybe link up with another newly trained EDI coach to compare notes and support each other as you gain experience.

If your budget goes to it, think about engaging a professional mentor coach or supervisor to help you on the journey towards official credentialing.

Jane, I hope that helps. Good luck
Wendy

For more information on making sure you get a credible Life Coach Training

Thank you!
by: Jane Jones

Thank you for your prompt reply to offer me help and support Wendy. It is so nice to not feel alone.

I will take action from the suggestions you made and strive to follow my dream so I can help others accomplish theirs.

I may need some help or/ and advise in the near future and hope I can call on you or others again who can hopefully help!? as I will do the same if I get the opportunity.

My warmest thanks to you!

Jane

A personal thing
by: Anna

Personally, I think it's more to do with the person itself.

You can have all the credentials in the world, although if you can't listen or feel empathy, you will never make a good coach.

I'm sure we all have come across someone in our life that "gets us", someone who makes us feel better about ourselves and clearer about our direction in life, and they are just normal folks with a knack talking to people.

Picking a good coach, I think, is more to do with the law of attraction than hard sell.

Best wishes for the future!

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