Cathy Liska What is the path to becoming a coach? To state the obvious, as with any profession it starts with education — training. Interestingly enough, it is often asked whether other education or training suffices. Think about it this way: if a medical doctor decides to be a dentist, since they are already a doctor do they require additional training? If an accountant wants to be a financial planner, does that require different training? The answer in both cases is yes. The work is different and for that reason the training is different. 
What training is right for becoming a coach? The gold standard for this is training that is accredited by the International Coaching Federation, ICF. The requirements for this dictate that, amongst other things, the training must develop the core competencies of a coach and teach the coaching Code of Ethics.
How much coaching-specific training is required? The ICF requires 60 hours of training to join the organization as a coaching professional. This is much like earning a two-year associates degree. To earn the ACC credential the ICF requires, in addition to the 60 training hours, 10 hours of mentor coaching, 100 hours of experience coaching, passing an assessment of a recorded coaching session, and passing the Coach Knowledge Assessment exam. To earn the PCC credential the training hours increase to 125, the coaching experience increases to 500 hours, and two recorded coaching sessions must pass assessment at the PCC level in addition to the exam. The PCC credential is much like earning a master’s degree. To earn the MCC credential the ICF requires that you first earn and hold the PCC for three years. The MCC calls for 200 hours of training and 2500 hours of coaching experience in addition to two recordings at the MCC level.
What are the options for this path? Training may be done in an a-la-carte approach with blocks of 30 hours or it may be completed in an all-in-one cohort that includes the training, mentor coaching, and assessing of your recording(s).
For the a-la-carte approach, the next 30-hour Certified Professional Coach program starts July 12 – https://www.coachcert.com/training/certified-professional-coach/certification-program-schedule.html
For the all-in-one to earn the ACC credential, the next cohort starts July 18 – https://www.coachcert.com/training/credentialing-cohorts/icf-credentialing-cohort-schedules.html
