This Program is designed to train and certify qualified individuals as Life Skills Coaches. A coach is a trained instructor and group facilitator, qualified to bring students to competency in a specific range of problem-solving skills for use in the following areas: self, relationships and family, education and employment, leisure and community.
Based on the Saskatchewan NewStart Model of Life Skills, coaches use structured lessons in combination with group dynamics to provide students with the necessary skills to both coach individuals and deliver community life skills programs. Training can be divided into four major areas of competence:
- Creative Problem Solving
- Structured Human Relations Training
- Coaching Techniques
- Life Skills Course Content
This program is also designed with a Personal Coaching section. The students will practice their skills in all of the Core Competencies as defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Students will learn about ethics, establishing agreements (contracts, guidelines, etc.), creating trust and mutual respect, and how to open and close a coach/client relationship.
Course Objectives
The principle objective of the Life Skills Coach Training Program is to facilitate students’ acquisition of the life skills required to develop and deliver programs in the community. Students must demonstrate voluntary use of these required skills and the ability to transfer them into real life situations.
Before the end of this course, students will demonstrate the following:
- Theory and Knowledge
- Defining Life Skills
- Understanding the theory, principles and methods of Life Skills
- The ethics of coaching
- Human Relations and Basic Communication Skills
- Becoming aware of one’s effect on others
- Displaying the ability to express and share feelings and self-disclose appropriately
- Demonstrating a positive self-concept
- Distinguishing own needs from those of others
- Remaining accountable for one’s own feelings, attitudes and beliefs
- Displaying fairness and lack of prejudice
- Recognizing own limits
- Individual Coaching
- Assisting clients to enhance self-concept and self-esteem
- Helping clients adjust to change
- Detecting lack of understanding
- Identifying and resolving interpersonal problems
- Encouraging independence and self-confidence
- Facilitating resolution of clients’ issues
- Demonstrating skills using real-life problems
- Transfer skills to every day life
- Group Dynamics
- Understanding and dealing with group dynamics effectively
- Planning group activities
- Delegating responsibility
- Lesson preparation and Presentation
- Understanding individual learning styles
- Communicating at the learners’ level
- Motivating group members
- Presentation of lessons in the five-phase format
- Sequencing lessons appropriately
- Adapting lessons to different groups
- Selecting appropriate techniques and learning aids
- Setting behavioural objectives
- Evaluation Skills
- Defining goals and expected outcomes
- Explaining evaluation process
- Analyzing student progress
- Terminating inappropriate trainees
- Assisting learners to devise self-evaluation strategies
Additional Information
Course Type: Daytime (FT)
Course Length: 12 Weeks
Course Hours: 360
Prerequisites: None
Other Requirements: None
