Coaching
The Institute of Management Consultants and Master Coaches of South Africa
Setting and maintaining standards in south africa
The Institute is the professional body
Representing business advisors, business rescue practitioners, management consultants, business, executive and leadership coaches. It sets and maintains standards for these professions in South Africa. It seeks to make the professions recognised, respected and accepted as providing a valuable and indispensable service to organisations in South Africa and the Southern African Region.
Application Process
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Go to our application form to begin the process
Link To specific Form
We will confirm your application is received. Once that is done we will notify you of your membership level and provide a link for you to do your payment.
Once your payment is received and confirmed. We will provide you links to the various documents we need you to sign and complete.
We provide you a certificate
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All professional applications to the IMCSA begin with the payment of the application processing fee and completion of the appropriate membership form. The Membership application form is completed, supporting documents attached and sent back to the registrar at info@imcsa.org.za.
The registrar assesses the submitted application and supporting documents to determine the appropriate membership level the applicant qualifies for. The applicant is notified in writing of the outcome of the application. They are then invoiced accordingly.
Once payment is received the individual membership certificate is issued.
The applicant is required to pay the stipulated annual membership fee, for the year of application. Memberships are renewed annually in January.
Application for membership as a coach is subject to the following criteria:
Affiliate (AFIMC)
Any person, who has an interest in the profession, wishes to be informed about or support the
profession and signs the code of conduct, may become an affiliate. Affiliate membership is also open
to undergraduates who plan to make a career of coaching, or leaders and managers who want to
demonstrate coaching capability. This category s for applicants who have less than 75 hours of
coaching experience.
Associate Membership: An individual with a coaching or coaching related qualification and more than 75 hours of coaching experience. Associate membership is also open to individuals within organisations who play a support or line role in the management and integration of coaching within the organisation (L&D, OD, HR etc).
Full Membership: A graduate with a coaching or coaching related qualification who has accumulated a minimum of 200 coaching hours may be accepted. Membership is also open to individuals within organisations who play a support or line role in the management and integration of coaching within the organisation (L&D, OD, HR etc). Prospective Master Coach Applicants complete this form as the first step to a
Master Coach Application. An applicant who does not possess a degree but has a minimum of eight years’ management experience may meet the requirements for an undergraduate degree to be waived.
Certified Master Coach (MC): Certified Master Coach (MC)
A Certified Master Coach represents the mark of competency for the coaching profession and is specifically geared to business, leadership, executive and performance coaches who have deep business knowledge in addition to their coaching competencies. Members with a minimum of 500 hours of coaching experience are eligible to become Certified Master Coaches (MC) by assessment.
Certified Management Consultants (CMCs) are eligible for MC credits on a case by case basis.
To apply for any level of coaching membership, except for certification, the process is as follows:
- All the documents you need are here. Just click the link to take you there. Please ensure that you select the “coaching” documents.
- Download the application pack, which contains the requirements and qualifications for each level of membership.
- Understand the requirements for each level of membership, from associate to full member.
- Fill in the application pack in as much detail as you can. If you need help, please contact the secretariat at info@imcsa.org.za.
- Download the code of Ethics, read and sign it.
- Pay the application fee related to your desired level of membership and submit Proof Of Payment (POP) to the secretariat at info@imcsa.org.za. Please note that application fees are non-refundable, due to the associated effort on the part of the IMCSA.
- The documents will be reviewed by the registrar, who will confirm whether they are complete and if they meet the requirements of the membership level being applied for.
- You will be contacted in this respect and given the go ahead to pay for the annual subscription of the qualifying level. You may peruse all the fees
- Your membership certificate will be issued as soon as POP has been received.
- Membership is valid for the year of issue only and to maintain membership in good standing, you need to pay your annual dues as they arise. The annual period is from 1 January to 31 December each year.
- Should you qualify for full membership, you may proceed to Certification, as described below:
- Please note that only qualifying full members will be considered for certification.
- Associate members may build credits and experience over time to upgrade to full membership coach
Certification is a Mark of Competency
Master Coach – Certified Master Coach (MC) is the mark of competency for the Business Coaching profession and is recognised internationally through the CMCGlobal.org. The MC designation is consistent with internationally accepted standards and indicates that a business, executive or leadership coach meets certain requirements of character, education, expertise and experience. Members with a minimum of 500 hours’ of face to face coaching experience are eligible to become a Certified Master Coaches (CMC) by assessment.
These assessments are offered to full members of the Institute as well as to existing Certified Management Consultants who have met the additional criteria. To retain the CMC designation, members must perform 100 hours of professional development every three years. A CMC Practicing certificate is issued annually upon fulfilment of the stated requirements.
High Standards
By setting high entry standards and continuing demands for certification, the IMCSA protects and enhances the reputation of the profession as a whole. By requiring continuing professional development of its certified members, the IMCSA ensures that certified members are in a position to deliver the highest standard of service.
The demand for certification status is above all other offerings of the IMCSA and members continuously rate certification as the single most important activity of an Institute. The standards for certification applied by the IMCSA in South Africa comply with international standards.
Reciprocity
An additional benefit of international certification is automatic reciprocity and recognition between member institutes.
Clients will be able to determine whether the coach they are dealing with is certified, by contacting the IMCSA. National and international bodies, including governments, will be able to draw on the register of certified coaches. Clients will obviously not be obliged to use MC’s but will be encouraged to do so.
Certification Eligibility and Process
The certification process is based on the following requirements:
- Support by other certified members and/or reputable clients in the form of testimonials.
- Evidence of bona fide coaching hours totalling not less 500 hours.
- Evidence of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or an additional 8 years of management experience in lieu of a degree.
- Sufficient management experience or line support experience to indicate competence in management and its principles.
- Signature of the code of ethics.
- A completed application, mapping your experience to each of the required competency areas, highlighting that you have understanding and experience of these.
- Undertaking an interview with qualified assessors to confirm the details of your application and to perform a summative assessment of you as a certified master coach.
Once you have sent through all application documents and your membership level has been determined by one of our assessors, you are required to pay the appropriate fee for the current year. You will then receive an invoice and upon receipt of proof of payment you will have a membership number assigned to you and a electronic certificate issued.
Please note that if you have less than 500 hours of bona fide face to face coaching experience, you will need to accumulate sufficient hours until you qualify for certification and may apply for a lower level of membership.
Full membership requires evidence of 200 or more hours of face to face coaching experience as described in the member application form. Only once you have qualified for full membership, and you have accumulated a minimum of 500 hours of coaching experience, can you begin the process of certification. This requires full membership as the starting point and is a competency-based assessment, requiring a comprehensive portfolio of evidence before the certification assessment interview is scheduled. Full membership means that the applicant has met the entry requirements for certification in terms of specific experience and the information now required will build on the full membership application.
Once an applicant has been awarded full membership and has accumulated the required experience in hours or years, the applicant may proceed to apply for certification.
The applicant must download the certification application pack for coaching. This pack contains detailed information about the process and requirements.
The applicant must pay the appropriate certification application fee and complete all the certification application documentation.
Once the documentation is complete, the applicant must pay the master coach assessment fee, which is non-refundable due to the amount of effort it entails. Proof of payment, along with the complete set of application documents must be forwarded to the secretariat at info@imcsa.org.za.
The applicant must comply with all requirements of the application prior to proceeding to the assessment interview. This means that the application must be complete in every sense.
The designated assessors will ensure compliance by means of a bench review of the application. If necessary, they will request further clarification in writing before allowing the candidate to proceed to the assessment interview. The assessors may reject the application due to incompleteness or due to the candidate failing to meet the minimum application criteria. If you have previously qualified as a member, there should only be minor issues, which can be rectified quite easily.
Once the bench review is complete to the satisfaction of both the assessors, the candidate will be invited to an assessment interview with two assessors. Their task is to validate your submission according to the now completed bench review and to confirm your credentials.
Upon successful completion of the assessment, the candidate will be notified in writing accordingly and a certificate will be issued for the year of the assessment.
All certificates remain valid for the calendar year of issue and must be renewed annually, in January, to ensure that the professional remains in good standing with the IMCSA.
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Continual Professional Development
As a Certified Master Coach (CMC), you are expected to plan your professional development and keep a record of learning activities, your reflections on them and the practical effects of the lessons learned. Evidence of how learning has been applied on live assignments is sought. Learning activities can include reading, research and attendance of recognised courses as described below.
The Institute regularly surveys CPD records on a sample basis. Retention of your certification is based on producing well-documented and considered CPD Plans and Records. Full CPD records will also be requested as part of the process of upgrading from CMC to FCMC.
It is expected that a CMC maintain a rolling record of 100 professional development hours over a 3 year period. Only recognised and relevant academic, public and IMCSA courses will be considered for credit.
CPD Documentation
Download The IMCSA CPD pack for all CMC to prepare their CPD and maintain their CMC status. YOu need to be registered on this website to access your personal folder
DOCUMENT NAME | DOWNLOAD LINK |
|---|---|
Application pack | |
Code of Ethics | |
Proof of payment of application processing fee |
Professional Code of Ethics
All members agree to abide by the Institute’s Code of Ethics which is approved by the ICMCI.
- Maintain a professional approach, attitude and behaviour in all our dealings with clients, the general public and fellow members.
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Accept assignments only for which we are qualified and where our objectivity, independence or integrity will not be impaired.
- Base our client recommendation on impartial observations, responsible opinion, pertinent facts and practical considerations.
- Ensure our anticipated benefits are obtainable and realistic.
- Disclose timeously to clients all financial or other interests in recommended goods or services.
- Ensure mutual understanding of all arrangements with clients prior to engagements.
- Maintain strict confidentiality of client information and never use privileged information without client permission.
- Refrain from inviting or receiving approaches from clients' employees for employment which could compromise client confidentiality and confidence.
- Accept an engagement only where there is no potential conflict of interest with one of our colleagues or where all parties are made aware in advance of the circumstances.
- Ensure all master coaches under our control are fully conversant with, and abide by the Code of Ethics.