HumanTechnics has announced that it has secured the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) Level 7 accreditation for its HumanTechnics Advanced Certificate in Executive Coaching qualification. The HumanTechnics training is already accredited at Masters level by Bristol Business School. This dual award from these two accreditation bodies is unique to HumanTechnics.
The ILM accreditation is in fact an additional qualification in its own right called the ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring.
ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring – those in the public sector will probably recognise the ILM as a body and possibly also the level 7 coaching and mentoring certificate. For those in the private sector the IML maybe new. The ILM have a huge range of management and leadership qualifications. Their approach to qualifications is modular and awards can be attained by professionals progressing through ILM accredited programmes even if delivered by different training providers. ILM qualifications range from level 3, supervisor level, to Level 7, which is Postgraduate level and linked into the same national quality framework as University qualifications. The HumanTechnics programme provides an ILM level 7 certificate award.
In the absence of a single accreditation body for coaches and coach training, University accreditation for professional coach training programmes has become very important. The ILM have made strong inroads in joining Universities as a key accreditation partner. How important the ILM Certificate will become in the coaching market is difficult to predict. It will ultimately depend on how recognised and valuable it’s perceived by coaches and people who employ coaches. However the recognition of the ILM coaching awards has grown very quickly and the HumanTechnics team believe that ILM accreditation will become very important and this is way it’s become a key element of the HumanTechnics qualifications going forward.
Matt Tobutt, Managing Director at HumanTechnics comments: “I’m really delighted about gaining the ILM accreditation for the HumanTechnics coach training programmes. The market is currently split generally along the public/private sector lines on how recognised the ILM are, however there’s no doubt that the recognition of the ILM level 7 coaching and mentoring award is growing very rapidly and this additional award will become increasingly important to our graduates.
With the HumanTechnics programmes already accredited by Bristol Business School at Postgraduate level and the ILM award also being at Postgraduate level, we are able to offer HumanTechnics coach training graduates a strong basis to represent their status as highly capable professional coaches.”
The issues around accreditation of coaches and coach training has shifted significantly over the last couple of years as clients have expected coaches to provide evidence of more formal qualifications. University accreditation for professional development programmes for coaches has become a must have, in addition schemes such as the ICF’s (International Coach Federation) credentials which are awarded on the basis of continued professional development and a portfolio of experience, are increasingly seen as important and valuable. So the market is growing up! It’s probably un-realistic to expect a single industry body to emerge but buyers of coaching services are becoming much more savvy about who they hire, coaches are much more careful when it comes to choosing coach training programmes and finding the right qualification for them. The experience and expertise of the coaching industry is at a new high and organisations and individuals are benefiting from that on a daily basis.