An Aberdeen-based coaching and training company is on a mission to create a new generation of coaches by training senior school pupils to coach professionally.
Sarah Smith, the founder of lightbulb.coach, is working with schools to raise awareness of the benefits of coaching and kicked off the first partnership with Mackie Academy this month.
Over the next term, Sarah will train 10 senior school pupils at Mackie Academy who will, in turn, coach younger school pupils. The senior pupils will take part in intensive training and assessment to qualify as Certified International Coaching Federation Coaches.
Sarah shared: “I’m thrilled that Mackie Academy has welcomed me to deliver the qualification as part of their leadership programme for senior students.
“This qualification will bring several benefits to pupils and their peers as they use coaching skills to develop their self-awareness, understand how they can work their way through challenges, build confidence, and ultimately help set pupils apart in their future endeavours.
“I’m fully aware of how much schools are challenged with limited resources but that’s why I've been keen to establish relationships with schools, understand their interest in our coaching programme for young people and see how we can bring coaching to pupils, supported by sponsorship from the business community. These young people are our future workforce and I strongly believe that we should be investing in them so they can realise their potential and grow.
Sarah Smith, founder of lightbulb.coach
“We’ve been fortunate to secure sponsorship from “Take Your Marks”, a Leadership Consultancy which has enabled us to go ahead and deliver the programme with Mackie Academy."
Sharing why he got involved, founder and owner, Allan Clark commented: “We were absolutely delighted when Sarah got in touch with us to support this programme. As a business that has its roots in education, we have an ongoing commitment to support the development of young people, particularly in areas that will equip them for their future in the workplace. Our corporate clients consistently cite Professional Coaching as being one thing that can be absolutely transformational for the leadership groups we work with and it’s fantastic to see the way Mackie Academy is embracing the approach with the support of lightbulb.coach.”
Sarah is hoping to deliver the course across all schools and, to fund the pupil courses, seeks sponsorship from businesses and the private sector to help expand and deliver the programme to support the development of the future workforce.
A former Talent Manager for Aberdeen Asset Management Sarah managed the early careers programmes and understood the value of having coaching skills in an organisation. After taking voluntary redundancy, she set up lightbulb.coach with the purpose of making coaching mainstream for young people.
Sarah added: “Being a coach has had such a positive influence on my life and I’ve seen the positive impact it makes on others. It seems obvious to me that by teaching coaching skills to young people, we’re empowering them to take charge of their own futures and have a positive impact on others.”
Interested organisations and schools can find more information by visiting www.lightbulb.coach or contact Sarah at sarah@lightbulb.coach or 01224 010141.
Since its establishment in 2019, lightbulb.coach has been at the forefront of making coaching accessible to everyone, dedicated to transforming lives through coaching. By offering ICF-accredited courses, they ensure that coaches are well-trained and capable of making a significant impact. Their courses are designed to cater to young people, schools, businesses, and individuals with the aim of building a resilient and self-sufficient future workforce.