Coaching skills to drive real change in the workplace
Ready to transform your organisation? Our coaching apprenticeship develops employees into highly effective professional coaches. Combining Cambridge learning with real-world training, it equips apprentices with the coaching knowledge, skills, and behaviours to support individuals and teams and drive performance across a wide range of contexts. Apprentices will focus on key aspects of coaching. From understanding different psychological approaches and core methodologies to developing as a coach and managing change. From theory to practice. At the end, they’ll achieve the Coaching Professional Apprenticeship Certification and the Undergraduate Diploma in Professional Coaching, with the option to apply for accreditation from the Association for Coaching.
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Course information
Coaching is more than a skill. It’s a catalyst for growth. This apprenticeship trains professionals to unlock potential in themselves, in their colleagues, and in their organisation. Through structured learning and workplace practice, apprentices will build confidence and capabilities as coaches without stepping away from their role.
Who is this apprenticeship for?
This apprenticeship is relevant for employees and employers across all sectors. It’s ideal for professionals in a diverse range of roles including managers, team leaders, human resources professionals, learning and development professionals and educators.
Benefits for apprentices
- Earn while you learn
- Professional qualification
- Practical experience aligned to a working environment
- Potential for career progression
Benefits for employers
- Enhanced workforce performance: staff use proven coaching models to improve individual, team, and organisational outcomes
- Improved employee engagement and retention: coaching fosters a positive, supportive workplace culture
- Professional recognition: staff achieve a nationally-recognised qualification, raising the profile of the organisation
- Future-ready skills: employees gain a clear development pathway, supporting succession-planning and long-term growth
Outcomes
The Coaching Professional apprenticeship is designed in accordance with the occupational standard as defined by Skills England and built around achieving a set of:
- Knowledges: things an apprentice learns
- Skills: things an apprentice demonstrates in assessments and in their portfolio
- Behaviours: areas related to an apprentice’s professional ability to carry out their work in practice
Hours
326 hours of ‘off-the-job' training.
Accreditation and professional recognition
The Coaching Professional Apprenticeship aligns with the following professional bodies:
- The Association for Coaching: apprentices can apply for individual accreditation after successfully completing the course
- The European Mentoring and Coaching Council
- The International Coach Federation
Qualifications
Apprentices will achieve:
- Coaching Professional Apprenticeship Certification
- Undergraduate Diploma in Professional Coaching
This apprenticeship takes place over 14 months, excluding the End Point Assessment. It combines on- and off-the-job training. Exact teaching dates and times will be confirmed in the course guide.
Start date: 12 October 2026
End date: 12 December 2027
Off-the-job training
‘Off-the-job’ training is university work that you carry out during your normal working hours, and typically makes up 20% of an apprenticeship. For this apprenticeship, the ‘off-the-job' training includes:
- One in-person introductory session
- 12 ‘live’ online teaching days (9.30am - 3.30pm)
- 8 one-hour online tutor sessions per term
- Pre-recorded lectures and activities
Topic 1: Psychological approaches to coaching
This unit develops understanding of core coaching methodologies and invites students to consider these within differing psychologically based approaches. A range of theories and models such as Gallwey’s Inner Game approach and Gestalt are contrasted with other approaches including, for example, psychological approaches that generate insights and those that focus on behaviour.
Topic 2: Personal and professional coaching development
The focus of this unit is the role of the coach and how they can bring themself fully to the coaching relationship. It examines and reviews Rogers’ core conditions for the therapist and assesses their relevance and application in the coaching context.
Topic 3: Coaching and change
The focus of this unit is the change process within coaching. Apprentices are invited to reflect upon their personal experiences of and reactions to change. This is considered within the contexts of both externally imposed and internally driven change.
Apprenticeship tutor
We will allocate an apprenticeship tutor, who will:
- supervise apprentices and hold tutor sessions
- be a ‘skills coach’, attending progress reviews and advising the employment mentor on progress
- complete workplace assessments
On-the-job training
Employers deliver ‘on-the-job’ training, which typically makes up 80% of an apprenticeship.
Employment mentor
Employers will allocate an employment mentor, who will:
- work closely with the apprentice and the apprenticeship tutor
- support in the development of the skills necessary for the apprentice to perform their role and complete their training
- help the apprentice develop relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours
- support the apprentice’s professional development and career planning
- provide opportunities for the apprentice to gain wider knowledge and skills
- support the alignment of on and off-the-job training
Apprentices will demonstrate learning using a range of assignments submitted during and at the end of each unit. There are more details about how this apprenticeship is assessed in the apprenticeship course guide we will send.
E-portfolio
Apprentices will submit assignments, workplace evidence and off-the-job hours on their e-portfolio. The apprenticeship tutor will monitor progress and communicate through the e-portfolio and set tasks and targets accordingly.
The workplace mentor and employer will have access to the e-portfolio to view progress and provide any support required.
Progress reviews
Progress reviews take place regularly throughout the apprenticeship. These are between the apprentice, the workplace mentor and the apprenticeship tutor.
End Point Assessment
After successfully completing learning and meeting the Knowledges Skills and Behaviours, apprentices proceed to the End Point Assessment. This takes place during month 15 to 18 of the apprenticeship and consists of:
- an observation
- a knowledge test
- an interview based on the apprentice’ portfolio of evidence (which is gathered throughout the apprenticeship)
To determine eligibility for the apprenticeship programme, apprentices need to:
- take an Initial Needs Assessment (INA)
- take a literacy and numeracy assessment (optional if over 19)
- complete residency eligibility checks
This process will:
- provide assurance to us and the employer that this is the right training course for the applicant
- identify relevant prior learning and any gaps in knowledge, skills or experience, and develop an individual training plan
- confirm whether the applicant’s English Language and Maths level meets requirements for the apprenticeship
- identify any support the apprentice may require in terms of additional learning needs
Fees
There is a £500 employer top-up fee for this apprenticeship.
Funding
For information on funding, including apprenticeship levy funds and additional funding, visit our apprenticeships page.
Apprentices
Interested in this apprenticeship? It’s a good idea to talk to your employer first. Once you have their support, click ‘Apply’ and we’ll review your application and get in touch with your employer.
Employers
Want more information and guidance on whether this apprenticeship could be a good fit for your business? Contact us. Once you’re ready to take the next step, your employee will need to apply.
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