Why enrol on the ILM Level 7 Coaching & Mentoring programme?
ILM’s Level 7 qualification is a masters-level credential, which is recognised as a core standard in the coaching and mentoring field, and beyond. For purchasers of coaching services, it is a qualification that indicates the coach has achieved a high standard of proficiency. As well as building your capabilities as a coach and mentor the Iron Mill College programme explores how you will bring your authentic self to your practice and create the all-important coach-client relationship.
Coaching and mentoring are acknowledged and proven development approaches with clear benefits for individuals and their organisations. While there are differences between coaching and mentoring there are many overlaps in the philosophies underpinning both activities, the ethics involved and the skills required for effective practice.
As a facilitative activity coaching gives people a safe space to explore topics of their choosing in order to discover insights and new perspectives. In organisations the topics will be work-related but can include a focus on other factors where these impact a work role. The coach is not a teacher or trainer but rather provides an environment, and the support and constructive challenge that enables the person being coached to work on What’s important to them in in the context of their role. Coaching can involve problem-solving, but it is much more than that – for example, it can offer opportunities for someone to mine their achievements to unearth the learning that can be transferred to other settings, or to explore their career progression.
Coaching, in particularly, has become a mainstream activity with many organisations increasing access for managers at all levels, rather than just the most senior people as has historically been the case. Some organisations establish in-house coaching teams to strengthen their development offers. In addition, increasingly employers are integrating coaching into their leadership and management approaches with many incorporating a coaching style into the ways they manage their people on a daily basis. In both cases, frequently the ILM Level 7 programme is used to provide their people with the required skills, approaches and “ways of being” as a coaching partner.
People who join the ILM Level 7 programme are often (but not exclusively):
- novice coaches who wish to gain an initial, high-level qualification
- experienced coaches who want to upgrade their professional credentials
- senior and middle managers who intend to integrate coaching into their leadership style
- people establishing a coaching business
- life coaches wishing to expand their offer to include work-based coaching
- employees sponsored by their employer who is establishing a coaching culture in their organisation
- practitioners from other related professions who wish to expand their service offers (e.g. counsellors)
- people seeking a major career shift out of their current, unrelated role and into coaching.
Written February 2026
