The move by one of the UK’s standard setting bodies to revisit National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Coaching and Mentoring is receiving a mixed response from interested parties.
The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), the standard setting organisation for the lifelong learning sector, is reviewing the standards developed by the Employment National Training Organisation in 2006. It aims to ensure they reflect coaching and mentoring in lifelong learning, and meet the needs of those who deliver them.
When the standards were first developed they attracted widespread criticism for their content and a lack of consultation in their development. Many thought they duplicated what had been done by bodies including the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) and International Coach Federation.
David Clutterbuck, co-founder of the EMCC, said when the EMCC tried to establish a common definition for coaching and mentoring across Europe, it found enormous variation between countries.
“Coaching and mentoring are international, as are most of the coaching professional bodies, so a purely national approach is, in my view, somewhat retrograde at this stage of evolution.”
He added: “What makes a good coach is constantly evolving – the bar is getting higher and higher. Most large companies using executive coaching aspire to hiring world-class coaches, but NOS aren’t focused at that level.”
However, others believe NOS are relevant. They describe what people need to do, know and understand to carry out a particular job or task consistently and to a nationally recognised level of competence. They are used by awarding bodies and regulatory organisations in the UK to develop and approve new qualifications, as well as by individuals to self-assess and describe personal achievements.
Stephen Palmer, director of the Centre for Coaching in London, said: “Few occupations remain static and cease developing unless they are moribund. Revisiting NOS for Coaching and Mentoring will hopefully bring us up to date with best coaching and mentoring practice. It will be important that the new standards are promoted effectively and not left on a shelf or an obscure page of a website!”
The two-phase review is being carried out between June and December 2011.
Could you help the LSIS shape NOS?
The LSIS has invited all those who deliver coaching and mentoring functions or related learning to be involved in the review.
This includes businesses, organisations and individuals who provide coaching and mentoring as part of their business function, and those who use NOS to develop, deliver or assess learning related to coaching and mentoring.
Opportunities include providing overall direction and steer and helping develop the revised functional map and NOS.
For further details contact: kim.harman@lsis.org.uk
For more on NOS go to: www.ukstandards.co.uk and on
LSIS responsibilities for NOS: www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=320143
Coaching at Work, Volume 6, Issue 4