New qualification a major boost for coaching in SA
30-NOV-05
The new programme has been designed by US-based coaching school New Ventures West - one of the International Coach Federation's highest ranked coaching schools -and is the only coaching programme in South Africa that has been accredited by the respected International Coach Federation.
According to Craig O'Flaherty, Founder and Director of the Centre for Coaching at the GSB, the dynamic partnership between New Ventures West and the Centre for Coaching will give South Africans access to world-class coaching training - with enormous benefits to South African business.
"Coaching is a successful tool for supporting the long-term development of individuals and organisations. It works because it initiates a change in behaviour. Coaching puts the individual in control of their actions, their feelings and their future," says O'Flaherty.
"South Africa is full of rapid and often frightening changes," adds O'Flaherty, "People have to adapt quickly to stay competitive. But they also need a sense of purpose and meaning and that's where coaching has a role. Coaching is truly a skill for the new millennium. Coaches build competence, foster personal fulfilment and open up possibilities. Coaches are people who allow others to access their own accumulated practical wisdom."
The Professional Coaching Course draws on New Ventures West's 20 years of cutting-edge coaching course development and experience. Course participants will join a group of 22 other professionals to study, learn and coach together for an entire year, forming a supportive learning community and guided by an international panel of certified Integral Coaches. The curriculum blends a demanding course of study with hands-on practice and attention to individual development.
Leading the process will be a cohort of highly qualified American and South African coaches including James Flaherty, founder of New Ventures West, who will be in South Africa this month to launch the programme. Flaherty is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern coaching.
"We're thrilled to have a number of excellent coaches and the New Ventures West founder himself, James Flaherty, on board to help us deliver this innovative programme to a new generation of South African coaches," says O'Flaherty, himself a highly experience Integral Coach who has coached executives in top South African organisations and trained prospective business and life coaches for the past five years.
Participants who complete the necessary course work in the year-long programme can attempt the rigorous certification process to become a certified Integral Coach through New Ventures West.
The Centre for Coaching at the GSB already offers a two-day Coaching to Excellence (CTE) class and a six-month Associate Coaching Course (ACC) which are pre-requisites for the new professional programme. These two courses will be offered in Johannesburg for the first time in 2006 in addition to the three CTE courses and one ACC planned for Cape Town next year.
Through the GSB's Executive Education unit, the Centre also launches an innovative short course called Strategic Leadership Coaching, which will run for the first time next February. The Centre also provides the coaching element to Executive Education's premier leadership development programme, the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP).
The Centre is a fully accredited, listed service provider of Coaching Services within the ETDP SETA so participants can expect to earn NQF level qualifications.
For more information on the new programme, contact (021) 406 1148 or go to www.centreforcoaching.co.za
