Why become a mentor coach? About the Bridge Partnership’s European Mentoring and coaching practitioner

It’s in English giving you the opportunity to work internationally
The Bridge’s Coaching Partnership was set up in 2020 by Klaudia Bednarova Principal of the Bridge based in Bratislava and Mike Shreeve coach and teacher based in the UK. The original idea was to teach a highly prized and relevant people skill in the medium of English. As pioneers we had the “blind faith” to believe that this would benefit both the coaching  and language Skills. Subsequent research has indicated that provided the coach is at least B2 level of English both the language skills and the coaching skills flourish in a second language. In particular, the coaching is more effective because the coach keeps things simpler. For more information we recommend reading: The paradox of coaching in a non-native language, Nick C.T. Steel, Henley Business School, University of Reading, Henley-on-Thames, UK, and Joanna Karmowska Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford

The EMCC combines mentoring and coaching
We are licenced training provider to the EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) This is one of the main coaching professional bodies. As far as we know we are the only provider of the EMCC type training in Slovakia although there are several ICF (International Coach Federation) providers. Whilst both bodies agree on the fundamentals some of the differences between us are that we offer you a practical qualification in both Mentoring and Coaching whereas ICF is focused only on coaching. In my opinion EMCC is more research based, more flexible and less prescriptive. It forms a more compatible community.
For a good analysis see link to David Clutterbuck’s article . According to the article the ICF is based in the USA whilst the EMCC is more European, diverse and global.
We teach you how to develop the 8 main EMCC competences. These give you a scaffold to hold your unique gifts as a coach. We believe it is a combination of these competences and your presence that creates the catalyst for your client to solve their own dilemmas.

Quality hours with reflection
Another difference is we don’t accredit peer to peer coaching as part of the 100 coaching hours you use to gain experience. We only count “client “ hours with a person who is not on the training course ,The peer to peer practice is a great way to build confidence and we ensure  you practice and experience being coached . After that we mentor you for the first 50 client hours to make sure you have a safety net and encourage learning and reflection from your experience.

Enriching Training

The training involves at least:
• 55 hours of training of which 75% is focused on practical skills. There is a large element of “live training” (75% is face to face , the rest being online.)
• 30 hours of peer-to-peer practice.
• At least 46 hours of mentored coaching / mentoring experience with volunteer clients.  Whilst you will be encouraged to find some clients, the school is able to find volunteer clients from their extensive links with businesses in the community, who will have real issues to work with. We believe this is a hidden benefit that few if any other providers can offer.
• Support over time to reach the level of experience required by the practitioner qualification which is 100hours of external coaching experience.( some people who want to use coaching in their own organisation may be happy to stop at the Foundation level .This can be updated with further experience.
• The building of a portfolio evidencing your experience with client notes, record of clients, record of practice and reflective material
• Private study involving reading and reflection. There is a course book the Coaching Manual (and also the Mentoring Manual) of Julie Starr.
• 16 hours mentoring and supervision from an experienced coach
• The filming of two sessions with your client
• An essay of 2000 words
• Final assessment involving a live coaching experience

This is both challenging and enriching. We recommend that you need to devote around 15 to 20 hours a month to stay up to date.

Holistic- More choices and depth
Some providers break their training into Business and Life Coaching. We don’t make the same distinction and believe that many life issues spill over into work and vice versa. We look at all coaching as about understanding the whole person and their context, This gives you more scope to pursue “your brand”  and have more time to choose the area you can make the most difference. We aim to build on your transferable skills from your business, education, life, artistic or sporting background. We encourage you to learn the context of your client and give you a range of tools to approach this. We explore emotional and life values as enabling deeper conversations. This gives you a greater range as a coach.

Creativity, reflectivity, listening and presence
We believe there is no one way to coach and each person brings a unique footprint. For this reason we teach several models of coaching and enable you to select from more than fifty tools to give you the flexibility to deal with most situations.

Team of Experts and Alumni club

Andrea Zahumenska and Mike Shreeve are experienced teachers and coaches with a wealth of knowledge. We recommend watching the video “Where Does Coaching End and Therapy Begin?”

Richard Fifield is an exceptional business mentor specializing in removing blocks and solving challenges for entrepreneurs and high-growth companies.

Our alumni are also willing to offer additional coaching sessions, contributing to the diversity and expertise of the team. We believe we have a unique mix of coaches on our team who follow current trends and shape future ones.
 
Great learning experience
 
The Bridge offers a wonderful learning experience in a historic part of Bratislava
As a language school it can support both your linguistic potential and provide real clients to practise on (although you will be encouraged to find your own as well).
 
The Bridge has great staff who will enrich your experience as well as a nucleus of experienced coaches who have graduated.
For More Information check our webpage.
The course is starting in February 2025 and runs until November, a detailed timetable can be found on our website or from Radka below.
Contact Radka Vajgelova at the Bridge study@thebridge.sk +421 917 323 693