AoEC · Executive Coach Development
Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching
A six-month qualification program for professionals who want to become credentialed executive coaches — and develop a coaching practice that is distinctly their own.
Virtual Live · [Dates TBD]
64 ICF Education Hours
20 Participants Maximum
AoEC Triple-Accredited
About the Program
Where the practice of coaching becomes a credential.
The Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching is SPARC's full coach qualification program, delivered in partnership with the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC) — one of the few training organizations worldwide to hold triple accreditation from the ICF, EMCC Global, and the Association for Coaching.
Over six months, participants move from practicing coaching skills to developing a signature coaching presence — a model that is genuinely their own, grounded in their psychology, their experience, and their way of working with people.
Approximately 70% of the program is experiential: live coaching practice with real clients, peer feedback, and faculty observation. The diploma is appropriate for professionals at any career stage who are ready to commit to coaching as a formal qualification.
Download the BrochureParticipant Voice
"The biggest takeaway from the course, aside from all the models, was getting to understand myself — who I am and how I coach. You start to build your own style. You start to build your own model. The faculty are quite honestly just genuinely wonderful human beings."
Ben Harvey · AoEC Practitioner Diploma Graduate
Accredited Training Provider
The AoEC holds triple accreditation from the three leading international professional coaching bodies. This combination is held by very few training organizations worldwide.
Who It's For
Coaching as a formal qualification belongs to more professionals than you might expect.
The diploma draws professionals from across sectors and disciplines. What they share is a readiness to practice coaching with rigor — and a commitment to developing the self-awareness that rigorous coaching demands.
◈
Leaders & Managers Ready to Go Deeper
The CSC establishes coaching capability. The diploma establishes coaching identity. For leaders who have experienced coaching's impact and want to develop the full range of skill and presence that professional-level coaching demands.
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HR & L&D Professionals
Organizations building internal coaching cultures need people qualified to do the work — not just oversee it. The diploma provides the credential, the competence, and the standing to lead that work from within.
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Professionals Entering Coaching as a Career
For those making a deliberate transition into coaching, the diploma provides the qualification recognized by the three major professional bodies and a clear pathway to ICF ACC accreditation. CSC graduates receive a 10% tuition reduction.
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Consultants & Independent Practitioners
The diploma provides the credential that distinguishes serious coaching practice from general advisory work — and opens pathways to formal accreditation, supervision, and continued professional development.
Program Overview
Program Structure
Three modules.
One assessment.
One coaching identity.
The program is structured around the natural arc of a coaching engagement — Beginnings, Middles, and Endings. Each module builds directly on the last. The learning between modules, through client work, mentor coaching, and eLearning, is as important as the live days themselves.
Contracting with clients, coaches, and sponsors. Key coaching frameworks and models. Advanced listening and questioning skills. The psychological foundations of how people function, grow, and change. Participants begin coaching their practice clients from day one.
Between Modules 1 & 2
Coaching practice with 2+ clients · eLearning assignments · Group mentor coaching session · 1:1 mentor coaching session
Advanced coaching techniques and creative approaches. Deepening understanding of the coachee's world. Exploring multiple frameworks and beginning to develop your own signature coaching model. Continued supervised practice with direct, individual faculty feedback.
Between Modules 2 & 3
Continued client practice · eLearning assignments · Group mentor coaching session · 1:1 mentor coaching session
Your coaching identity: consolidating your unique model and signature presence. Ethical practice and professional standards. Managing effective closure. Preparing your written learning reflection and live coaching demonstration for the assessment day.
Before Assessment
Tutorial with faculty · Final client hours · Written learning reflection · 1:1 mentor coaching session
Assessment Day
Written Reflection · Coaching Demonstration · Live Presentation
The assessment day is the culmination of six months of practice, not a performance for its own sake. Participants present their learning journey and coaching model to faculty and peers, and deliver a live coaching demonstration assessed against ICF competency markers. Graduates who pass receive the Practitioner Diploma and are immediately eligible to apply for ICF ACC accreditation.
How You Learn
Practice, not observation.
Presence, not performance.
70%
Live coaching practice across all modules
30%
Theoretical & psychological input from faculty
20
Maximum cohort — a design requirement
6
Months of structured, supported development
Expert Faculty Observation
AoEC-certified executive coaches with active professional practices observe every participant in live coaching practice and provide direct, individual feedback at each module.
Real Practice Clients
Participants work with two or more practice clients of their own throughout the program. The learning is substantially more valuable when the material is real.
Mentor Coaching Included
Three group and three individual mentor coaching sessions are included in the program fee. Mentor coaching develops the reflective capacity that distinguishes skilled coaches from knowledgeable ones.
Your Own Coaching Model
The program does not prescribe a single coaching style. By the assessment, each participant has developed a model that reflects their own psychology, experience, and signature presence.
The Practice Triad
Coach
Develop skill
Practice with real challenges in a safe, observed environment with direct faculty feedback.
Coachee
Real challenges
Bring live professional challenges into sessions — the learning is richer when the material matters.
Observer
Give feedback
Develop a distinct awareness of coaching presence and technique by watching and reflecting.
Participants rotate through all three roles across every module. Each develops a distinct kind of awareness and skill.
Accreditation & Credentials
The beginning of a
recognized professional pathway.
Your Qualification
Step Two
Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching
Duration
6 months
ICF Education Hours
64 hours
ICF Level
Level 1 Accredited
ICF Credential Pathway
ACC (Associate Certified Coach)
EMCC Recognition
EQA Practitioner Level
AC Recognition
Foundation Executive Coach
CSC Discount
10% for CSC graduates
A full, assessed coaching qualification. Graduates are eligible to apply for ICF ACC accreditation immediately upon completion.
Natural Progression
Step Three
Professional Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching
ICF Level
Level 2 Accredited
ICF Education Hours
135 hours (combined)
ICF Credential Pathway
PCC (Professional Certified Coach)
Combined with Diploma
135 total ICF hours
Prior Learning Required
ICF Level 1 or ACC
The recommended pathway for those seeking to practice formally as executive coaches at the highest level. Builds directly on the Practitioner Diploma.
ℹ On the value of recognized credentials: The ICF's 2025 Global Coaching Study found that 73% of clients and organizations now expect their coach to hold a recognized credential. In a largely unregulated profession, the source of your training matters — both to those you serve and to the professional bodies through which you seek credentialing. The AoEC's triple accreditation is held by very few training organizations worldwide. Training with the AoEC through SPARC is a meaningful differentiator in that context.
Participant Voices
What participants say.
“
An excellent programme that has great structure and content and enables people who are new to coaching to start their own personal journey as an executive coach.
Practitioner Diploma Graduate
AoEC Alumni
“
Participating on the AoEC Practitioner Diploma has been a great investment. The sessions are brilliantly delivered. The course has energised my own development and I will be able to develop my own professional practice as a result.
Paul White
Organisational Performance Specialist
“
I have been coaching for two years. This diploma programme has taken my coaching to the next level.
Practitioner Diploma Graduate
AoEC Alumni
Faculty
Led by practitioners,
not trainers.
The SPARC Practitioner Diploma is led by active executive coaches who bring real organizational experience into every module. Faculty are AoEC-certified and observe every participant in live practice to provide substantive, individual feedback.
Mathew Johnson
Ph.D. · PCC · Executive Coach · AoEC Faculty
Co-founder of SPARC Associates and AoEC's exclusive US partner. Brings over 25 years of experience serving 300+ organizational clients across higher education, nonprofit, and mission-aligned sectors. His coaching practice is grounded in the applied behavioral sciences and a deep commitment to leadership development.
Shannon O'Neill
Ph.D. · PCC · Executive Coach · AoEC Faculty
Co-founder of SPARC Associates and a senior AoEC faculty member. Shannon works with leaders and organizations across higher education, foundations, and the social sector. Her coaching and facilitation draws on extensive experience in organizational development and a practitioner-first approach to coach training.
Questions & Answers
Your questions,
answered directly.
The Practitioner Diploma is designed for professionals with a working understanding of coaching who are ready to commit to a formal qualification. Previous participants have included:
- HR and talent development professionals
- Leaders and managers who have completed introductory coaching training
- Organizational development practitioners
- Consultants and independent professionals
- Individuals making a deliberate career transition into coaching
The Coaching Skills Certificate is an introduction to coaching principles and practice — two intensive days that develop coaching capability for immediate application in leadership and professional contexts. The Practitioner Diploma is a full qualification: six months, assessed against international competency standards, leading to ICF ACC eligibility.
The CSC develops how you lead. The Diploma establishes who you are as a coach.
The CSC develops how you lead. The Diploma establishes who you are as a coach.
Yes. Graduates of the Practitioner Diploma have completed the education hours, mentor coaching, and performance evaluation requirements for ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation. The qualification is recognized by the ICF, EMCC Global, and the Association for Coaching — the three leading international coaching bodies. Graduates can practice as professional coaches and apply for ACC accreditation immediately upon completion.
The program does not train participants to deliver a single prescribed coaching approach. Instead, it exposes you to multiple frameworks — including GROW, person-centred, solution-focused, and psychologically-grounded approaches — and provides the reflective practice and faculty feedback needed to identify what aligns with your psychology, your experience, and your way of being with people.
By the assessment, you will have a coaching model you can articulate, demonstrate, and build on.
By the assessment, you will have a coaching model you can articulate, demonstrate, and build on.
The program is designed to be completed alongside full-time professional work. The three 2-day modules are scheduled with sufficient space between them to allow for client practice, eLearning, and reflection without overwhelming participants. The majority of people who complete the diploma do so while working.
The intensity is real — this is a substantive qualification — but the structure is designed to make it achievable.
The intensity is real — this is a substantive qualification — but the structure is designed to make it achievable.
Between each module, participants receive:
- Group mentor coaching sessions
- Individual 1:1 mentor coaching sessions
- eLearning assignments and resources
- Access to faculty for guidance
- Structured frameworks for tracking coaching hours and reflections
The Practitioner Diploma is a Level 1 ICF Accredited program, recognized for 64 coach-specific education hours. Graduates have completed the education hours, mentor coaching, and performance evaluation requirements for ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation.
The diploma also holds EMCC Global EQA at Practitioner level and Accredited Award in Coach Training status with the Association for Coaching. The AoEC's triple accreditation is held by very few organizations worldwide.
The diploma also holds EMCC Global EQA at Practitioner level and Accredited Award in Coach Training status with the Association for Coaching. The AoEC's triple accreditation is held by very few organizations worldwide.
No — the CSC is not a prerequisite for the Practitioner Diploma. The diploma is appropriate for professionals with a working understanding of coaching, regardless of how that understanding was developed.
That said, CSC graduates receive a 10% tuition reduction on the Practitioner Diploma, and the CSC provides an excellent foundation for participants who want to enter the diploma with confidence in the core skills.
That said, CSC graduates receive a 10% tuition reduction on the Practitioner Diploma, and the CSC provides an excellent foundation for participants who want to enter the diploma with confidence in the core skills.
Now Enrolling · [Dates TBD] 2026
The next step is deciding to invest six months in becoming the coach you intend to be.
Six months is a considered investment. The qualification that results is recognized internationally and opens pathways that general coaching experience does not. If coaching is on your horizon — as a credential, a practice, or a professional identity — there is no more direct path to that destination.
The [Season] cohort is limited to 20 participants.