Coaching Training

If you are an organisation interested in coaching, we can help you develop internal coach networks, facilitate ILM accredited coaching programmes and support your leaders and managers to adopt a coaching approach.

If you are an individual interested in coaching development, we can help you develop your skills through a range of open programmes and one to one support.

If you are a practising coach, we offer group and one to one supervision to help you reflect and enhance your practice, in a supportive encouraging environment.

We have trained well over 1000 people in coaching skills across a wide range of training courses. We won a National Training Award in 2015 for our coaching programmes and services, and in 2023 were shortlisted for an Irish National Training Award for Best Collaboration for our work with Queen’s University, helping them expand their internal coaching service and grow and embed a coaching culture.

ILM Accredited Courses

NEW PROGRAMME STARTING JANUARY 2025

Level 5 Certificate in Coaching

This course is ideal for people with significant responsibility for coaching and mentoring as part of their work role, or for individuals who wish to move into a development role or start a career in coaching with a professional qualification.  It offers a nationally recognised and highly reputable coaching qualification.

We pride ourselves on the quality of this course.

100% of participants on our last programme said they would recommend it to others.

And that’s because we offer more guidance, more support and more supervision than other providers, all facilitated by qualified, accredited and experienced Executive Coaches.

Coaching Skills for Managers

Leaders and managers who adopt a coaching style of management are able to communicate much more effectively, lead their teams through change and transition, and encourage staff to take ownership and really engage with their work.

Coaching is a critical skill for managers, especially in our new hybrid working world.  Coaching can transform the team’s performance, and lower the stress levels of all the team, manager included.

We believe that off the shelf one day coaching courses don’t work, and don’t deliver what you need. So, we offer bespoke flexible solutions, tailored to your situation, culture, budget and needs. That includes both short introductory courses, and longer more intensive courses for managers and leaders, either face to face or online. All designed to have immediate benefit and impact, with lots of opportunity for interaction and practice.

Coaching and Mentoring Supervision

Our coaching supervision provides a safe, supportive space to reflect, re-energise and review your coaching practice.

Supervision has been at the heart of our own coaching development, helping us to build our own coaching skills, understand ourselves as coaches and develop our own individual practice, and supported us in complex and more challenging situations.

We’ve always included supervision in all our programmes and in 2023 Marie trained with Barefoot Coaching as a Coach Supervisor to enhance her own practice as a supervisor.

We offer 1-1 supervision and group supervision for both internal coaches and mentors. Yes, mentors benefit from supervision too!

Why Us?

Our experience

  • We‘re highly experienced, both as accredited executive coaches, and in delivering coaching training.

  • We know what it is like to introduce and try to build a coaching culture in an organisation. We have been there, so we completely understand the challenges, and we won an Irish National Training Award for Coaching based on the work we did, and the impact it had, in our last organisation.

  • We’ve published research and a best practice case study on coaching in organisations, and Marie completed her MSc focusing on the impact of the leader as coach.

  • Marie was an External Quality Advisor with ILM, advising and auditing organisations on their coaching programmes, so is an expert with ILM coaching programmes. She’s just recently completed a Barefoot Coach training course in Supervision.

Our training approach

  • Our ambition is to raise the quality of coaching training. When you complete any of our training programmes, we want you to be confident and capable in your skills, ready to make an impact with your coaching. So, in all our courses we build in more practice and more supervision time.

  • We pioneered delivering coaching skills training online, starting in 2010. We designed, and taught on for over 10 years, a fully online masters level coaching module for staff working in the Health Sector. We deliver online and blended training that is just as engaged, interactive and impactful as in person.

  • And all our coaching courses are bespoke to your needs, tailored to your organisational culture and goals. Having worked in large organisations ourselves and bought in training, we know the difference in impact between an off the shelf theoretical course, and a practical tailored programme.

Our results speak for themselves

  • In every evaluation of our ILM Level accredited programmes, 100% of the participants said that they would recommend the course. All of the participants commented on the level of support they received, both through supervision and tutorial support.

  • In our last evaluation of the Coaching for Leaders course, every participant scored it 5 out of 5 for the quality and impact of the course, saying that it was an opportunity for a reset in their approch, and commenting on the quality of the training and the tools and techniques they were learning and applyign with their team.

  • We’re passionate about coaching, and committed to delivering coaching training programmes that really deliver, both for individual participants and the teams and organisations that they are part of.

What people are saying

  • On a practical level, coaching provided a safe space, and time out, to explore what my role essentially entails, and equipped me with skills to communicate more effectively, motivate and galvanise my team. On a personal level, the course helped me better understand myself and my thought processes, and provided new ways of thinking which have application for all areas of my life. Coaching has been a threshold moment both professionally and personally.

    Associate Head of School

  • I am thoroughly enjoying this Coaching course! The size of the group is good, having two facilitators is useful, continuing to keep the workshops interactive is engaging. The online triads are working well outside of the workshop and it was very useful to engage in a triad in the workshop with feedback from peers and the facilitator. Thank you for your understanding of the challenges of continuing to engage in this programme under lockdown whilst also working at home and attending to family and caring responsibilities.

    Online ILM level 5 coaching programme participant

  • I was a participant on the ILM Level 5 Certificate Coaching and Mentoring course delivered by Marie. Over the duration of the course Marie was always there to provide support and direction when needed and as always delivered the training in an informative and relaxed manner. Her natural ability to put participants at ease helped make the content very enjoyable as well as ensuring we all understood the various coaching techniques. The chance to achieve a recognised coaching qualification was very important with the added bonus of gaining valuable insights from Marie’s coaching experience. The course definitely helped me in my day to day work and made me a better and more inclusive manager. Even after the course finished Marie has continued to be a source of support and encouragement.

    Student Union Manager

  • As a senior leader in a Higher Education setting, the ILM level 5 Coaching course was a game changer for me. One of the most valuable elements of the programme is the significantly high level of 1-1 supervision and support afforded to each participant. The opportunity to reflect on, and discuss the issues and challenges associated with carrying out my role in a confidential space was genuinely liberating and enabling for me. Solutions-focussed coaching as a leadership tool has had a positive impact on my broader role as a senior leader in the University, it is genuinely satisfying to engage with colleagues in a positive and productive way. I would highly recommend this course to anyone seeking to add news skills to their leadership toolkit.

    University Librarian and Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer

  • I am so glad I put myself forward for this opportunity, I have learnt so much about coaching and myself. I really appreciate everything that was done to keep the course going through the pandemic. Marie and Clare were both so approachable and supportive - thank you.

    QUB ILM level 5 programme participant