Shaking up the Process

Wow, the education reforms are very thorough, all qualifications must have depth be recognised by a University, or be a vocational qualification from a business with 5 employers registered with Companies House that is at least as large as an A Level.

This follows on from the problems met by AQA and Edexcel for allowing weak qualifications through for the price of an accreditation. It's also about time that something solid was decided upon, and does away completely with degrees that have no substance nor any future career prospects. They must have external assessment and grading which is an expensive issue for smaller educational companies.

Also the first step towards a DSA qualification for driving instructors, which has been on the table for years, that will be robust, two years of study and be a usable qualification, to fit in with the criteria listed, that of course opens the way for delivery by the big organisations who can meet the requirements and the funding. This is bad news for the small provider of training, but does tie in with the consultation paper.

For other career paths including those just about to move into their GCSE years, the timing is on target, as September 2014 will be just one year in and as these qualifications primarily are to help 16 - 19 choose a career path this can only be a good thing.

Matthew Hancock said

'So for the first time we will ensure that exam boards list the employers or universities which support their courses. Only these stretching, strong courses will count in league tables.'

 

About time too, here is to better educational choices and away with excuses for education that are not academically sound.

CCL for learner drivers

Four weeks ago I wrote to the minister of transport, as a fully qualified life and executive coach. I did identify myself as a driver trainer, however I also passed on some of the research I am involved in.

 I am deeply concerned by the watered down approach to change within the driving instruction industry, particularly this spoon fed coaching which are words with no substance. having studied hard for my qualifications over the last few years and taken time to build a robust portfolio of clients within the executive sector as well as individual clients, I have found it quite difficult to see how coaching can be incorporated in it's purest form to help learner drivers. It was a relief to find that it has been recognised within Government that misuse of coaching has the potential to be damaging to the client, as I felt that had been over looked.

Some of the response covers the Standards document and the fact that trainers should not change their methods, just that ADI's have felt restricted within their work with clients and this encourages more listening and a better transition of the transfer of responsibility from trainer to trainee.  It also says that once the standards check comes into force instructors will be given a clearer idea of what is expected of them and this will enable them to choose more effective training.

I asked how an instructor could present coaching to a client without years of study and qualifications

'We do not want to lose what we already have and if we were to suddenly say that all ADIs had to become coaches there would be some who would become confused about what was being asked of them.  Others would try to deploy what they understood to be coaching tools and not do it well.  The result could be an overall deterioration in the quality of driver instruction.'


I asked why CCL is considered to be coaching within the driver training industry, the response was

'I can assure you that we are very aware client centred learning (CCL) is not the same as coaching. '


Although the reply was very in depth I have felt that these are very relevant to the sudden twist towards coaching for instructors, there are many other elements that were specifically asked linked to my research and understanding of the real risk within the young driver sector.

However, I am passionate about road safety, I do still work as a driving instructor, and I desperately would like to see better fatality figures for young drivers. Some of you may have seen my research and others may have read extracts from my up coming book, although not for the driving instructor industry, young drivers and road risk is touched upon. So, with this in mind I needed some answers, and today they were not just answered in full, but they satisfied my concerns.  As I am known to be cynical, as most writers are, when dealing with quotes and lengthy exchange, I feel that this response was by far one of the best I have received to date.

Moving along, it was felt that although HERMES was used as a reference which had emphasised coaching as a concept, this has been decided against, with the overall feeling being that there will be no attempt to use fully formed coaching skills, the aim is to relieve instructors of rigid approaches to training and allow more listening in the learning environment.

This appears to be quality control with the clients needs being more important and the tutor taking a guiding role. However, although this seems like a sensible approach it still doesn't tackle scientific evidence which shows that the young driver brain activity, risk, excitement etc is the controlling influence as opposed to the training environment.

Copyright A.Green 2013 - no extracts or reproduction without express consent of the author.

 

Driving the Future

I wonder how many drivers would rate their driving below 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, not many I'd bet, yet how about someone else rating your driving, would it be well received, somehow I doubt it, yet the UK Government is leaning towards GDL, despite the fact that their is no hard evidence that is comprehensive enough, to prove it is a life saver.

On the table for some time has been a political urge to monitor the driving standards of all licence holders in the UK. The first step is CPC for professional drivers and then the next group, everyone else. The latest research shows that 25 - 49 is the biggest group of people who lose their lives on the road, and that only 7% of the World's roads have seen any steps towards saving lives, yet every 40 seconds someone loses their life on the roads, so with those figures in mind would you be keen to have your driving assessed?

Political pressure has led to various groups trying to cash in on the improved driving instructor, by selling training, but do they need it? Well one would actually hope not because all those young people learning to drive who choose their lesson delivery by price alone is then putting their life in the hands of someone who might not be up to the job. However all instructors have passed the same qualification, with all professions seeking CPD, except driver training, extra qualifications may not actually make any difference, a good academic is not necessarily a good teacher. An experienced one is likely to be, because the trade of driver training sees many come and go, so will holding a piece of paper make any difference.

When you choose your driver trainer to assess your skills, when your company chooses driver trainers to assess your skills, did they choose the one with the best recommendations and highest qualifications, or did they shop on price? Have you ever asked your fleet trainer if they hold any qualifications? Would you care or are you just conforming to company requirements as opposed to a real desire to be better, or are you good enough already? Would you choose your surgeon the same way?

Are the targets unachievable, can the driving of everyone be improved so much that there are no accidents.

According to the research I am involved in the answer is no. You can reduce accidents with a multi factored approach but they have to be comprehensive enough to get everyone regardless of their background and financial situation.

Alienating the Client

The current economic climate has bought difficulties for many businesses, large and small, established or young, so are business owners and employees in a position where they should be alienating the client?

Well one has to think not, but it does happen, on the phone through email or face to face. Many companies employ executive coaches to train staff, but how many are going for the cheapest option rather than option that delivers real results.

I experienced some evidence of coaching in the dentists chair, for the first time in 30 years I was asked what I expected from my visit and what was the end result I wished to achieve, I prompted a question to define the time frame they thought they could provide, funny really, being a life coach I could feel the lip service.  The tedious questionaire that accompanied it though demonstrated that the guiding hand of advice wasn't quite on the client wavelength, bringing into question, did the coach identify the market properly or use a method picked up on a one off course. It will be interesting to see if they deliver.

Coaching has stretched to the driver training industry, it is neither life nor executive coaching, it is teaching techniques with a coaching slant, it is dressed up as client centered learning, yet the preperation a life coach makes before embarking on sessions with their client is not even touched upon and if it was, the instructor would have to charge a much larger rate than is currently being asked. That would see the end of cheap lessons, but the years of study to even begin this journey would push away many instructors.

The knock on effect is the courses being offered, one size doesn't fit all, one course does not make a coach. Having a qualification is not enough, because being able to academically achieve does not necessarily mean you can deliver the goods, so coaches develop a portfolio to accompany their CPD, on going CPD is a must for a coach, to join many of the associations you need a consistent level of CPD to accompany your portfolio. Does the buyer search for this or just fall for a sales pitch.

Moving on to other areas of coaching, life coaching, can the coach alienate their client, well it depends, there has to be rapport in the relationship for it to move forward, but as a business person can the coach create ambience to a satisfactory level without possibly embracing the personality of the client, well a good coach can. As coaching can be offered through e-mail, Skype or telephone then rapport isn't necessarily evident, it may be there it may not. However should someone who truly embraces coaching for it's real value, believe in it and trust it's worth ever risk their business by alientating anyone in their potential market place, we would hope not.

You do not have to be a financial coach to understand your business needs to be viable and nurtured, so can client marketing work. Literacy is important, a document with poor spelling or grammer sent to clients is the first step to pushing them away, understand your market, and to do that you must understand your client base.

Too many coaches offer courses, and this is covered in regular debate on coaching forums, because they have not been able to succeed as a coach, often attending one course or picking up one qualification outside of QCF guidelines and developing a course of their own to make money. Great for the provider not so great for the client, so does this also amount to alienating the client, according to many, well yes it does.

So how do we step away from this trap, know your market, your client and your own target, have a mentor and a plan, above all be realistic. The client always gets what they pay for, but do you want your business to alienate your client base because you bought the first off the shelf coach who came your way.

Is 2013 Your Year?

Are you looking forward to the Christmas Break?

Is 2013 your year or does 2014 sound even better, or perhaps you are looking back to past years with a little thought of I wish I had ....

Will your Christmas be a working holiday or a well deserved rest?

Is it time for a change of career, or a step up the ladder, do you feel you are worth more, looking for a pay rise or promotion, do you want to see change in your working life.

Whether you have a job at the top of the pay scale or one at the minimum wage, you can have more, if you want it, and I mean really want it.

I left school with a handful of qualifications but they were not going to light any fires and I wasn't worried if they did, for me it was party time, my own money out every night, a great family and friends, four years later I was married and work was a must not a pass time, with a young child to care for my party lifestyle had flipped on it's head, a couple of years later, pregnant with my second child I was suddenly a single Mum with divorce and homelessness to look forward to. Work was almost impossible to juggle and times were unbelieveably hard.

It is possible to change your life, but it is not easy, you have to want it so much you can taste it. Do you want a better future? Why not explore what your better future is to you.

http://www.aicoachingsolutions.com/career-491.html