It is hard to believe that we are celebrating our 15-year anniversary this March. And yet in other ways, looking back on the growth of this organisation, it’s hard to believe so much has happened in that time. In a few industry, growth is inevitable but when we started training coaches in 2008, we would not have guessed what 2023 would look like.
Let’s look back on the past year and the most current news, and in future newsletters we will be recording significant events during the 15 years of operation.
At WCA we have experienced this year as a time of consolidation but also expansion as we continue to improve our certification courses which still hold the highest credential of any Australian health and wellness coach training program. And yet we welcome the growth of our community with healthy competition and a wider range of offerings for those who wish to work in this important field. We welcomed Jason Nikakis to WCA, making him our fourth NBHWC certified coach on our team of trainers! (If any of you decide to sit for the Board exam, please let us know as we love to recognise this achievement and may well be looking for additional assessors/trainers in the future who hold this qualification.)
As an organisation we continue to see students graduate with the Professional Certificate, coming from varied backgrounds and moving into areas of work of their choice. Companies offering digital platforms allow coaches to work with people based all over the world and again, are looking for credentials.
Health and wellness coaches are being accepted as a valuable addition to medical clinics and disadvantaged or rural communities are being serviced as populations are in need of our services.
We are now accepting that coaches working in wellbeing focus as much on mental health, as physical health, and training is being adapted to cater for this.
We are partnering with the Mental Fitness Project and Paul Taylor and his team, to offer a HCANZA approved Certificate in Mental Fitness and Health Coaching and gradually Wellness Coaching Australia will launch other specialisation pathways.
This year, in 2023 we have just held our first intensive training retreat for an enthusiastic group of students who wanted to fast track and experience face to face learning. Due to its success, we hope that this may become a standard event on our calendar, with dates being set for later in the year for what may well be a bi-annual event. Long periods of isolation have given many the need for greater connection and our WCA team feels the same!
During 2022 we continued to support and promote HCANZA as our representative body and the future of the industry. We encourage our students to join as soon as they are eligible and take out student membership if they would like to get a taste. With the inaugural conference being a great success, we will look forward to this year’s event on 30th and 31st August in Brisbane in which we will enthusiastically be involved.
In summary, our work is finally gaining the recognition it deserves. Coaching in the area of health and wellness is coming of age, and now widely accepted as being an area that many ICF coaches wish to move into and undertake the extra training required. Similarly, health and wellness coaches are looking into the paths to gain ICF credentials. Hopefully, collaboration between the two groups will occur to make this easier.
