Coaching Courses For VAs

I was recently approached by an organisation I’d never heard of to promote their new certification for VAs. Their email was not very clear in explaining what they were promoting and when I went to their website, I found their page for the certification for VAs. However, I decided to decline their request to promote to my list of VAs till I received further information. Why?

1. They appeared to not be a member of any coaching or educational organisation.

2. There was no apparent affiliation with the industry field they were providing the certification for.

3. I’d not heard of them before but am not averse to new groups – just careful.

4. It is very easy for people to create new courses based on a perceived need and some research but not necessarily out of real knowledge of the industry.

I did research the organisation and located old websites dating back to 2001/2002 and found they had worked in a different field altogether. But again, nothing that shows they are aligned with a training institute or indeed have the experience and knowledge to train VAs in the particular niche field they are promoting.

I encourage to you look carefully when seeking out coaching programs and check their credentials – are they experienced in the field that they provide the training for? Do they have the relevant background experience? Are they aligned with a coaching organisation or training institute? Do they have testimonials showing? Are there others who have done their courses that you can contact for verification?

The organisation that approached me may well be genuine, but I reserve the right to withhold any decisions until I receive further information. Even if the course is promoted with a heavy discount and short time frame for making a decision, it is worth while doing the homework and research first. Having certification for your industry and chosen field is a good thing to do – you just need to be sure that the organisation or person providing it, are qualified to do so, otherwise the time involved, the expense and the paper at the end of it amounts to very little. KMT

virtual assistants, coaching, training, certification, qualifications