ACCREDITATION GUIDELINES

Accreditation guidelines

Criteria Guidelines for Accredited Executive Coach Membership
Application Process for Executive Coach Accreditation
Benefits of Accredited Membership
Criteria Guidelines for Associate Membership (Working towards Accreditation)
Application Process for Associate Membership
Criteria Guidelines for Accreditation of Executive Coach Supervisors
Application Process for Accreditation
Corporate Buyers of Coaching
Invited Members

Criteria Guidelines for Accredited Executive Coach Membership.

APECS defines 'Executive' as: a person who has a level of leadership responsibility (financial / operational/ people) and/or responsibility for policy formulation and/or who makes a senior level individual contribution in the organisation.

Applicants for Accredited Executive Coach membership need to demonstrate extensive one-to-one executive coaching experience over at least five years. As a guide, extensive is taken to mean, for example, not normally less than 40% of a full-time portfolio. They are required to provide portfolio evidence to include:

  • professional training together with a formal, recognised qualification (e.g. BPS Chartered Status, UKCP, BACP or equivalent in the country where the applicant qualified) in psychology, psychotherapy or counselling; OR portfolio evidence of an equivalent level of psychological knowledge and understanding relevant to the coaching context;
  • understanding and application of ethical and boundary management considerations in coaching;
  • significant (i.e. a minimum of five years) executive business experience personally (e.g. line management and/or consultancy) in addition to experience as an Executive Coach;
  • applicants will also have to articulate, as required, the detailed rationale/ philosophy of their practice and model of working;
  • evidence of and commitment to ongoing professional and personal development including self-awareness and supervision;
  • Demonstration of a contribution to the Executive Coaching profession, for example:
    • Published articles
    • Conference presentations
    • Research
    • Design and facilitation of coaching workshops
  • reflection on professional practice and evaluation of professional practice;
  • acceptance of and intention to abide by APECS' Ethical Guidelines;
  • an undertaking to comply with any U.K. or E.U. requirements or those governing the geographic area in which they work;
  • applicants will be required to provide references from 2 referees and a statement from their supervisor confirming supervisory arrangements; and
  • professional liability insurance of at least £1 million (or monetary equivalent) specifically referring to Executive Coaching

Application Process for Executive Coach Accreditation

  1. Applicant requests the Application Form from the Membership Secretary (MS).
  2. Applicant completes the Application Form on line and sends one hard copy including all signed documents with payment of £235.00 (£200 + 17.5%) to the MS.
  3. MS passes the completed Application Form plus any supporting documents to a minimum of two members of the Executive Coach Accreditation Panel (ECAP).
  4. ECAP members review the Application and decide:

    a. It may meet accreditation criteria;
    b. It is likely to fall into the "Associate Member working towards accreditation" category
    c. It does not, at this time, meet the requirements for membership.
  5. MS communicates ECAP members' decision to applicant (no appeal against b. or c. above)
  6. If a. above, applicant is informed by MS, and is invited to take part in an Accreditation Dialogue (AD) with a minimum of two ECAP members and to submit a case study for discussion. A further payment of £352.50 (£300 + 17.5%) to be made for the AD. The AD process will give APECS the opportunity to explore your strengths and capabilities as an Executive Coach in greater depth; a factor in the final decision will be the quality of your interpersonal engagement with the ECAP. APECS expects you to view this whole application process as an opportunity for personal reflection and personal development.
  7. The AD is arranged and either:

    a. Applicant passes to "Accredited" membership category or "Associate Membership working towards Accreditation" category.
    b. Applicant does not meet the criteria for either category. The outcome of the AD is passed to the ECAP for ratification.
  8. MS communicates outcome to applicant who may appeal to the ECAP who will sit as an Appeals Committee excluding any ECAP Member who has been involved in processing the application to date.
  9. Assuming applicant wishes to proceed to the appropriate category, a further £176.25 (£150 + 17.5%) for Accredited status or £115.00 (£100.00 + 15%VAT) for Associate Member status) in respect of the annual membership fee for the 12 months commencing 1st of the following calendar month is payable. This will be renewable 12 months from the date of acceptance.
  10. Those who, as a result of the accreditation application process, fall into the "Associate Member working towards accreditation" category may re-apply for accreditation not sooner than 12 months from the decision date of the previous application.

Benefits of Accredited Membership

  • Accreditation recognised by our Corporate Members that is by over 20 major business buyers of Executive Coaching and Supervision.
  • Your own personal page on the APECS website accessible by all our corporate members.
  • Access to monthly professional development events at reduced fee.
  • Licensed use of the APECS logo showing your name and accredited status.
  • Posting on website of articles etc. you have written (subject to moderator).

Criteria Guidelines for Associate Membership (Working towards Accreditation)

APECS defines 'Executive' as: a person who has a level of leadership responsibility (financial/operational/people) and/or responsibility for policy formulation and/or who makes a senior level individual contribution in the organisation.

Applicants for Associate Membership (working towards accreditation) need to demonstrate extensive one-to-one Executive Coaching experience over at least two years. As a guide, 'extensive' is taken to mean, for example, not less than 20% of a full-time portfolio (for example one day per week); not less than four clients a month or fifteen clients over a period of a year. Their application form needs to show:

  • professional training relevant to Executive Coaching. If the training or development is not coach specific, it must be shown to be relevant to Executive Coaching and to inform your practice as an Executive Coach;
  • understanding and application of ethical and boundary management considerations in coaching;
  • a minimum of three years executive business experience personally (eg line management and/or consultancy) in addition to experience as an Executive Coach (*Executive is defined above);
  • where they are on their journey to meet full accreditation requirements in due course. An outline is required of background and development with respect to either or both of the following requirements:
    • APECS Accredited Executive Coaches are required to have professional training together with a formal, recognised qualification (e.g. BPS Chartered Status, UKCP, BACP or the equivalent in the country where the applicant qualified) in psychology, psychotherapy or counselling; or
    • portfolio evidence of an equivalent level of applied psychological knowledge and understanding relevan to the Executive Coaching context.
  • evidence of and commitment to ongoing professional and personal development including self-awareness and supervision;
  • acceptance of and intention to abide by APECS' Ethical Guidleines, in particular point 2 which, for this purpose, requires the Associate Member to agree a development plan with his/her supervisor at the beginning of the associate membership and on annual renewal. APECS reserves the right to review this document with the Associate Member;
  • an undertaking to comply with any U.K. or E.U. requirements or those governing the geographic area in which they work;
  • an annual statement will be required by APEC, signed by the Associate Member's supervisor certifying that in his/her view the Associate Member is coaching in a competent and ethical manner; and
  • professional liability insurance of at least £1 million (or monetary equivalent) specifically referring to Executive Coaching.

APECS wishes to encourage Associate Membership and recognises that there needs to be some flexibility in the application of these guidelines. APECS acknowledges that Associate Members can make significant contributions to the APECS community and that in turn APECS Accredited Members can assist prospective Associate Members through acting as mentors in the application process

Application Process for Associate Membership

Step 1:
Applicant completes the Application Form on line and sends one hard copy (PDF), along with the registration fee of £58.75 (£50 + 17.5%) to the Membership Secretary (MS);

Step 2:
MS passes the completed Application Form plus any supporting documents to a minimum of two members of the Executive Coach Accreditation Panel for review;

Step 3:
If the Application meets the criteria, and is accepted, Applicant will be informed and asked to send a further £117.50 (£100 + 17.5%) for the 12 months' Associate membership of APECS. This will be renewable 12 months from the date of acceptance.

Criteria Guidelines for Accreditation of Executive Coach Supervisors

Applicants for accredited Executive Coach Supervisor need to demonstrate executive coach experience over at least five years and Executive Coach Supervision for a minimum of two years. Normally they will have engaged with 2-3 supervisees per year to a minimum of 25 hours per year. They will normally be expected to be APECS Accredited Executive Coaches. They are required to provide portfolio evidence to include:

  • training in supervision;
  • understanding and application of ethical and boundary management considerations in executive coaching supervision;
  • applicants will also have to articulate, as required, the detailed rationale/philosophy of their practice and model of working as an Executive Coach Supervisor;
  • evidence of and commitment to ongoing professional and personal development including self-awareness and supervision;
  • Demonstration of a contribution to the Executive Coaching profession, for example:
    • Published articles;
    • Conference presentations;
    • Research; and
    • Design and facilitation of coaching supervision workshops.
  • reflection on professional practice and evaluation of professional practice;
  • acceptance of and intention to abide by APECS' Ethical Guidelines;
  • an undertaking to comply with any U.K. or E.U. requirements or those governing the geographic area in which they work;
  • applicants will be required to provide references from 2 referees and a statement from their supervisor confirming supervisory arrangements; and
  • professional liability insurance of at least £1 million (or monetary equivalent), specifically referring to Executive Coaching Supervision.

Application Process for Accreditation

Applicant completes application form and returns it (PDF + 1 hard copy) with payment of £235.00 (£200 + 17.5%) to Membership Secretary

Membership Secretary passes the completed application form to the Supervision Accreditation Panel (SAP)

SAP reviews the application and decides that:

  1. the application may meet accreditation criteria
  2. the application at this time, does not meet the requirements for accreditation

Membership Secretary communicates SAP’s decision to applicant (no appeal against ‘b’ above)

If a) above, applicant is asked to submit payment of £352.50 (£300 + 17.5%) for the next stage:

Applicant is invited to an Accreditation Dialogue (AD) with a minimum of two SAP members and either:

  1.  applicant passes to ‘Accredited’ membership category
  2.  applicant does not meet the criteria

Membership Secretary communicates outcome to applicant who may appeal against b) above to the SAP who will sit as an Appeals Committee excluding any SAP member who has been involved in processing the application to date.

If applicant is not already an APECS Accredited Executive Coach and assuming applicant wishes to proceed to the accreditation category of Executive Coach Supervisor, a further £172.50 (£150.00 +VAT) in respect of the annual membership fee for the 12 months commencing 1st of the following calendar month is payable. This will be renewable 12 months from the date of acceptance.

The AD process will give APECS the opportunity to explore your strengths and capabilities as an Executive Coach Supervisor in greater depth; a factor in the final decision will be the quality of your interpersonal engagement with the Accreditation Panel.  APECS encourages you to view this whole application process as an opportunity for personal reflection and personal development.

If, at any stage of the process, you are assessed as not yet meeting the standards required, you will be invited to have a conversation with one of the SAP about the rationale for the decision. In addition, you will receive feedback about what further actions and/or development you need to undertake in order to meet the Criteria Guidelines for Accreditation of Executive Coach Supervisor (see appendix)

Other Categories of Membership:

Corporate Buyers of Coaching

You are invited to invest in the professionalisation of the coaching industry.

The cost of Corporate Membership is currently £2,350.00 (£2000.00 + 17.5%) per annum.

As a Corporate Member of APECS you will have the opportunity to:

  • nominate two of your senior colleagues to participate free of charge in APECS' stimulating events programme (excluding annual conference);
  • attend at a reduced rate, twice yearly half day 'Masterclasses';
  • learn from and with other Corporate Members who are at the leading edge in the use of Executive Coaches and Supervisors of executive coaching together with the practitioner members themselves via the APECS events and website;
  • contribute to the development of professional standards of coaching and supervision in your industry;
  • have access via your password to the details of APECS Accredited Executive Coaches and Supervisors of Executive Coaches listed on the APECS website;
  • influence the direction of research and contribute to the field of Executive Coaching and Supervision and have access to research findings;
  • have access to good practice in meeting with APECS Accredited Executive Coaches & Supervisors via our events and website;
  • have your own named APECS Director who you can liaise with re queries, requests, to give feedback etc; and
  • by separate fee negotiation, and only available to Corporate Member organisations, have the APECS seal on your internal coach selection training and supervision processes if they meet the APECS good practice standards.

Invited Members

E.g Consultants/Academics researching the field of coaching and supervision and providing advisory and implementation services with regard to the coaching industry/profession.
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