Coaching of Coaches

The project addresses a common European issue - the shortage of skilled and unskilled workers due to the demographic developments in the past few years. There is a substantial "hidden reserve" of people who would be able to work but for various reasons are not doing so. Through individual coaching, it is possible to activate and motivate these people, to help them recognize and overcome internal and external barriers, to work out perspectives with them and thus (re-)integrate them into the job market. To fulfil this task there is a need for coaches who have professional and life experience and who are able to pass this on at eye level. To address this need was the main reason for the application.

The objective of the project was to provide coaches and those who want to become coaches with the necessary tools, methodological and factual knowledge and the according skills to be able to work with clients, so that in the course of their own professional development they can not only experience support in dealing with a clientele that is diverse in a number of aspects but they can also learn new methods, come into contact with modern forms of learning and discover how these can be used in dealing with clients. Coach is a job-title, which is not protected or in any way regulated. The project, its activities and results shall ensure that the coaches who participate will be able to obtain a formal recognition that their work meets high quality standards - for themselves and as a reference for future clients or employers.

The project was carried out by four organisations who bring complementary experience and expertise in coaching, adult training and education, the development of training programmes, the application of alternative and digital methodologies and the involved partners also have access to networks of target groups and stakeholders, who could benefit from the outcomes of the project. The following activities were implemented in the project: Our regular virtual and transnational project meetings, and the drafted management, evaluation, quality and dissemination plans formed the basis for a successful cooperation partnership. Paired with the mentioned expertise and experience these were essential for the development of the planned project results. These results were applied in a Teaching activity, which consisted of two parts. A needs analysis provided us with criteria for the selection process of the participants, who in turn helped with their feedback to improve the project results further. Different dissemination activities, like the exchange platform, newsletters, postings in social media, the development of a corporate identity, personal contacts within our networks and finally the multiplier events were carried out to promote and share our activities and results.

The cooperation focussed on the development of an internationally recognized training programme. To achieve this, we analysed the specific needs of our direct and indirect target groups. Based on the findings of that analysis and on the requirements of the International Coaching Federation we created a comprehensive curriculum, which was tested and evaluated during the project - by the project partners and by the participants of our training activity. Following this we developed the modules of the training programme. The training programme consists of self-contained training modules as face-to-face units and video-based self-study units. All units were tested, evaluated and refined if necessary. There are additional materials, such as a comprehensive reading list, open book assessments, evaluation grids and video links which can be downloaded from the exchange platform. The project website gives users free access to the project results and all additional materials. It can function as an exchange platform for participants, mentors, coaches and stakeholders who are looking for advice, who want to reflect on their experiences or who want to exchange ideas.