Life Coach

Tasks & duties

Life coaches may do some or all of the following:

• support people to make lifestyle and career choices
• support people to embrace change or accept lack of change in their lives
• help people achieve balance, meaning and purpose in their lives
• help people identify steps and take actions to achieve goals
• use a range of techniques to address client issues, such as developing self-confidence
• develop stress management, staff development and team building programmes for businesses
• design and facilitate programmes to cater to the needs of specific groups such as retired people

Skills & knowledge

Life coaches need to have:

• excellent oral and written communication skills
• skill in analysing and evaluating human behaviour
• coaching and facilitation skills
• listening skills
• time management skills
• telephone counselling skills

Life coaches who are self-employed also need to have business skills, including management and marketing skills.

Entry requirements

There are no specific entry requirements to become a life coach. However, a diploma or other qualification in coaching from a professional coaching school is strongly recommended. Courses should involve at least 60 hours of practical and theoretical training.

A psychology or business degree may also be useful, as may a background in business, counselling or the area in which coaching is practised; for example, youth work for a teenager coach.

Tertiary education

Training is by distance learning via online correspondence or teleclass.

Training on the job

Life coaches may attend conferences to keep up to date with their subject field and share information with other coaches. They may also attend professional coach association meetings and workshops, or complete further training by distance learning.

Useful experience

Useful experience for life coaches includes any work involving relating or communicating closely with people, particularly in areas involving development or learning, such as training, facilitation, human resources, counselling or teaching. However, other experience, such as business and people management, is also useful.

Related courses

Counselling

For more information, please refer to Career Services.