What ICF Accreditation Actually Means
What is the ICF?
The ICF is the International Coaching Federation. ICF accreditation for coach training programs is a standard-setting process that reviews every aspect of the training program—the curriculum, the facilitators—to ensure that it meets certain standards. If you elect to go with a coach training program that is not ICF-accredited, you’ll run the risk of graduating and not really being able to use your training in a professional setting, as many organizations require a credential. You also run the risk that you are not fully trained as a coach.
What Does it Mean if A Coach Training Program is ICF Accredited?
When a program is ICF-accredited at a Level 1 or higher, it means the curriculum has been reviewed to ensure it teaches specific coaching competencies, ethics, and skill development benchmarks. We need to be careful here, too–there are a number of coach “training” providers out there marketing programs that only have what the ICF calls CEUs, or Continuing Education Units for their program (also called Continuing Coach Education or CCEs). These “training” providers still label themselves as “accredited,” which is a manipulative marketing tactic that intends to confuse the consumer, because as the word “Continuing” implies, that type of training is not intended for people learning the coaching skillset–it’s intended for existing coaches who want to undertake continuing education.
You want to look for programs that, like CLCC, are accredited at a Level 1 or higher level. Our CLCC program is accredited by the ICF and that means that all of our curriculum has been reviewed, end-to-end, that all of our facilitators must have a certain amount of experience and oversight, that ethics training is included, and that you’re getting feedback on your coaching.
Now, ICF accreditation in a program does not mean:
You’ll automatically be a great coach
The training program will fit your learning style
The business side will be handled for you
What it does mean is that the training aligns with globally recognized coaching standards and can count toward credentialing if you choose to pursue that path.
Think of ICF accreditation like a baseline of rigor—not a personality test or a promise of success.
CLCC’s program is designed to prepare you for an ICF credential. It’s modeled after the ICF Core Competencies, and knowing that you went to an ICF-accredited program that is a Level 1 or higher program is useful if you want:
Professional portability
Credibility with organizations
A clear developmental pathway
One of the things that is most important to us is building in support for your personal growth and development alongside the rigor of being an ICF Accredited program. If you check out our catalogue at TeamCLCC.com you’ll be able to see everything we cover and how we prepare you for a career in coaching, whether that’s to be a full-time coach, have clients on the side and do work that lights you up, or bring coaching skills into organizations.