Our ICF Triple Accredited Associate Diploma is accredited by the ICF (Level 1) EMCC and AC giving you the option to be accredited by and of these three main coaching bodies on graduation.
This diploma is taught to a high standard using our trademarked Holistic Coaching Framework and Psychology-informed curriculum which is practical and engaging.
Expect a comprehensive training experience allowing you to become a confident, credible coach.
Each body has independently audited our curriculum, our trainer credentials, assessment rigour, and ethics alignment. Passing all three means our program meets the strictest standards across the board, not just one body’s bar.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is world's largest organisation for professionally trained coaches and is best known for setting industry standards. It accredits coach training programs and issues the most widely recognized coaching credentials which for the Level 1 certification is the ACC (Associate Certified Coach).
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) founded in 1992 covers mentoring and supervision as core disciplines, not just coaching, and its competence framework leans more developmental. Despite the name, now operating globally.
Associate of Coaching UK (AC) professional body for coaches, founded in 2002 and headquartered in the UK. It accredits coach training programs and offers individual accreditation at four levels. Distinctive features include client feedback as part of accreditation, professional indemnity insurance requirements, and a strong ethics focus.
Our lead trainer is Ruth Kudzi, Founder and Master Certified Coach ( the highest ICF credential) and one of the UK’s leading coaches.
Alongside Ruth all the trainers are PCC or MCC accredited with decades of experience.
The depth of experience of the trainers and the fact they all run their own coaching businesses means you can be confident in the relevance of the course.
Our Psychology-informed curriculum means you’re able to go deeper with your clients and work with their brains and nervous systems to create lasting change. We’ve got a whole person holistic approach to coaching which means you’ll leave the diploma with a range of approaches and tools which allow you to be flexible with your clients.
We support you to be a competent and confident coach being able to use a range of tools and techniques. Our structured, high quality teaching focused on Psychology-based coaching approaches, backed up by scientific research. This is based on our Holistic coaching framework giving you a variety of tools, techniques and approaches which go beyond the GROW model so you have flexibility to work with clients to help them find their own solutions on a deeper more transformational level.
We support you to develop strong coaching skills: the course is hands-on with coaching practice, scenario-based learning, coaching session observations and lots of competency based feedback. The combination of experience, feedback and mentoring support helps you define your own coaching approach with confidence to work with a variety of clients.
We support you personally to develop your own style and approach. Our small, experienced team get to know you as an individual providing a flexible and compassionate space. We find our students build strong relationships and continue to support you through our alumni offer. All the team are generous with their time and knowledge : we all have our own coaching businesses and share examples with you.
Our curriculum is grounded in Psychology & Neuroscience giving you practical tools and approaches you can use with clients as well as helping you design your own coaching approach congruent with the ICF competencies. This well-rounded approach ensures you stand out as a coach.
We support you to contract as a group and identify how to get the most out of the program. We also frame the course learning and give insight into the ICF core competencies and code of ethics. This is where you get more practical with a focus on more of the “what” of coaching exploring transactional models as well as building on your knowledge of the core competencies.
We explore the GROW model as a framework for coaching. How to use G to set great Goals, moving onto how to explore Reality effectively with Clients. Then we move onto understanding the importance of exploring Options and then how to support Client growth through ways forward.
This module focuses on the “who” of the client by exploring emotions and deeper work. Exploring ways to work with client’s emotions Supporting clients to identify emotions and change emotional state.
This module focuses on exploring your needs, your Client's needs and their identity on a deeper level. We also discuss having an appreciation of the clients context and it’s impact on the coaching relationship. We discuss the merits of a strengths-based approach to coaching and what it mean.
This module explores research in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology applying in to coaching topics linking in with current coaching research and supporting improved decision making. Some of the topics we explore are supporting gratitude practice and positive affect, ways to build resilience in clients, models for wellbeing and strengthening the coaching mindset and coaching presence using positive psychology tools.
This module brings together all of the learning from previous sessions and explores habit formation and behavioural change, understanding how to work more effectively with clients brains and helping clients to reduce stress and make better decisions.
This is where we bring together all of your learning whilst reviewing the holistic coaching framework and understand how to use it, reflecting on your learning and next steps and building your confidence on the path to certification and accreditation.
For more details on our triple accredited Associate diploma, including more information on all our modules, a summary of how Optimus’s coaching approach is different and how our training creates Confident, Credible coaches that get Consistent Results
As someone relatively new to coaching, you may be asking yourself Do I have what it takes to become a coach? Am I the right person to coach others? Self-doubt/imposter syndrome can creep in, but confidence in coaching doesn’t come before training. It comes through it.] Our trademarked SELFLESS™ model provides a clear and flexible framework, giving you confidence in the ingredients of successful coaching sessions by understanding how to be a coach as well as how to “do” coaching.
As a newly accredited coach, With relatively little coaching experience, you may be asking yourself how will I stand out against other coaches, especially those with more experience. Imposter syndrome may play a part with some people. The good news is that less than 10% of all coaches are ICF Accredited] Even better news is the fact both our Associate and our Professional Diplomas are actually accredited by 3 leading coaching global organisations. Firstly, the International Coaching Federation ( ICF), the leading global organisation for coaches and coaching, and also the European Mentoring and Coaching Council ( EMCC) and finally the Association of Coaching (AC).
As a newly qualified coach, you will learn extensive frameworks and tools to enable you get meaningful results for a wide range of clients. You’ll have flexibility in your approaches by learning a variety of techniques including: Goal setting frameworks, Core values exercises, Coaching for emotions, Emotional intelligence development, Somatic awareness practices, Visioning and visualisations, Mindfulness and meditation, Strengths based coaching, Wellness and self care planning, Positive psychology interventions, Decision making matrixes alongside models and frameworks based in Neuroscience & Coaching Psychology. By going beyond standard transactional forms of coaching we equip you with more holistic methods that give you more chance of real success. ] Our trademarked Optimus Holistic Coaching Framework™ focuses on coaching the whole person giving you flexibility to tailor your approach to suit the client in front of you. This means you can go beyond surface-level issues to uncover underlying beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. This enables clients to gain powerful insights and build new neural pathways rewiring the way they think, feel and act. By working with your Clients in this way, you help them to get consistent results with higher levels of satisfaction.
You'll learn more about the curriculum, structure and how we deliver the program so you can be confident it works for you.
You'll learn how we integrate our trademarked SELFLESS model and holistic coaching framework into our training to support you to become a confident and competent coach.
You'll hear from our recent students, more about our team and hear from our Founder, Ruth Kudzi so that you can get a good idea of who we are and what we stand for.
The next start date for the Associate Coach Diploma is the week commencing 21st September 2026, completing w/c 25th January 2027.
You can choose either Monday 6 pm – 10 pm, or Tuesday 10 am- 1 pm
26th October
21st, 28th December
4th January
After September, the next start date for the Associate Coach Diploma is w/c 16th November 2026, starting week commencing 1st February 2027.
You can choose either Monday 6-9 pm or Tuesday 10 am – 1 pm
Our group sizes are deliberately small for each cohort to maintain a good trainer / student ratio and so once available spaces are filled, availability moves to the next in take.
To enrol for this diploma or discuss your options, book a call or email hello@optimuscoachacademy.com
With our flexible payment options
Outside the UK? Please email hello@optimuscoachacademy.com to sign up
Discover how professional coach training can help you develop the skills, confidence, and knowledge to begin your coaching journey.
"Doing the Optimus Coach Academy diploma has been such a game-changer for me. I now feel armed with a great range of tools to support any individual. The mix of practical learning, live practice, and support from mentors and peers made the whole experience both challenging and inspiring. I've come away with real confidence in myself as a coach."
"From start to finish, the Optimus experience was amazing. The care and attention for our learning journey from the staff was always present. The course material is great and I always felt supported. Thank you so much. "
"What a journey! From play-acting our way through the models when we first met, to deep, authentic coaching conversations, it's been an absolute pleasure to learn with Optimus. The trainers made each session engaging, and we've made some lifelong friendships along the way. Would highly recommend!"
"This course has changed my life! Nothing about me is the same as when I started. I've left the corporate world behind and I'm now starting out as a coach and consultant. I notice how I can engage differently in situations and use my positive curiosity for better outcomes. If anyone is thinking about signing up, don't hesitate for a minute. You will have no regrets!"
For further information on our Diplomas and accredited training programmes
Our highly experienced tutors and trainers are all ICF qualified, from a wide range of backgrounds and with diverse industry knowledge, to support you every step of the way. Our founder Ruth Kudzi, MCC delivers around 50% of the training on the diploma.
You’ll study a wide range of evidence-based coaching approaches including Neuroscience, Positive psychology, Somatic coaching and Coaching for Emotions linked into our holistic coaching framework. We teach you how to be a coach, how to inform your practice and then frameworks, tools and approaches you can use.
As well as the chance to coach and be coached in most sessions (with feedback), you’ll also be matched with a coaching peer to further develop your skills. And you can build your coaching hours with opportunities for pro bono coaching, if you want to work with third sector and charitable organisations (or if you want to get more coaching hours under your belt and feel totally confident, before you take the leap into your own business!). We can always support you with coaching hours.
The course is accredited by the ICF, EMCC and AC.
For you to become accredited with the EMCC, this can happen directly after completion. You will be accredited at the Practitioner or Senior Practitioner level depending on your experience.
For the ICF, when you have 100 coaching hours, you can apply for ACC. In total, you will have to sit an online multiple-choice test (we support you to prepare for this). When you complete 500 hours in total, you apply for PCC as above.
For the AC, we support you with the process.
All of the accreditation bodies charge a fee for accreditation: remember you don’t need to do any additional training as all is covered in the course up to the PCC level for the ICF.
To obtain an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential from the International Coach Federation (ICF)—the leading global organization for coaching standards—you need to complete at least 60 hours of coach-specific education ).
The most seamless pathway to the ACC is enrolling in an ICF Level 1 Accredited Program , which automatically packages the required 60+ training hours, mentor coaching, and the performance evaluation required for your credential. When choosing, prioritize programs that offer live, interactive training rather than fully self-paced, as this is crucial for developing skills and meeting ICF accreditation standards. Ensure the program includes at least 10 hours of mentor coaching and a Performance Evaluation.
ACC is the first credential level and is designed for newer coaches. At this stage, coaches demonstrate they can apply the ICF core competencies, build coaching relationships, and conduct effective coaching conversations. It signals that a coach has formal training and supervised development, but is still building experience.
PCC is often considered the benchmark credential for full-time professional coaches. Coaches at this level have significantly more client experience and are expected to facilitate deeper awareness, behavioral change, and accountability. Many organizations looking to hire external coaches specifically request PCC-level credentials.
Our goal is to support you to become a Confident, Credible coach that gets Consistent results for Clients
Our goal is to support you to become a Confident, Credible coach that gets Consistent results for Clients
