Self-test: Is the Coaching Supervision training to become a "Supervisor Coach with Federal Diploma (HFP)" the right one for me?

What does the day-to-day work of a "Supervisor-Coach" with a federal diploma look like?

A supervisor-coach is employed or self-employed as an internal consultant in their own or another person's field of work and profession. This can be, for example, in the social/socio-educational, agogical, health or educational sector. They work with individuals as well as with groups and teams.

A supervisor-coach accompanies and supports their clients (so-called supervisees/coachees) in dealing with their tasks. For example, they help them to reflect on their own (professional) role, function, performance and problems. This also includes personal and professional development, such as coping with stress and conflict situations or working together with the supervisees/coachees.

A supervisor-coach counseling process takes place over several sessions.

In each case, the initial situation is first clarified and the goals for a specific period are defined together with the client. When preparing the consultation, consultants for supervision and coaching draw on various consulting approaches and methods, which they use as appropriate to the situation. They always take into account the context in which the client is working.

They also work according to a differentiated advisory concept, which they continuously review and develop.

During the consultation, supervisor-coaches ensure a trusting working relationship. In addition, the counseling sessions are continuously evaluated with regard to the goals defined at the beginning.

Target group and skills: Who is the Higher Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach with a Federal Diploma suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The Coaching Supervision training is aimed at specialists and managers from the social/social education, health and education sectors,

• who would like to develop further in the direction of consulting.
• who are already working as consultants and would like to deepen their knowledge and skills with the federal diploma.
• who would like to prove their consulting skills and knowledge with a federal diploma and thereby increase their career opportunities.

Furthermore, the target group of the Coaching Supervision training also includes people with a federal certificate as a company mentor who would like to expand their skills in coaching and counseling in the area of coaching and supervision.

Supervisor-Coaches should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Load capacity
• Sense of responsibility
• Trustworthy
• Communicative
• Empathic and sensitive
• Enjoy dealing with people
• Structured way of working
• Curiosity and the will to constantly develop further
• Mindful lifestyle
• Correspondingly relevant life experience

Requirements for admission to the Advanced Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach:

In order to be admitted to the Advanced Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach, you must meet the following requirements by the time you register for the examination/start the examination:

• Federal certificate as a company mentor (BP)

Or

• Completion of tertiary level and at least six years of professional experience as well as proof of 30 hours of supervision as a supervisor or 30 hours of coaching as a coachee

And

• Proof of at least 15 consulting processes* with a total of at least 80 hours
• Participation in at least 8 sessions (totaling at least 20 hours) of an intervision group** for at least two years
• Accompaniment by a teaching supervisor** in at least 10 sessions totaling at least 15 hours for at least one year

* The term "counseling processes" refers to experiences in counseling individuals, teams and groups in an operational or professional context.

** The search for a suitable intervision group is carried out independently by the candidates.
*** The Examination Board of the HFP for Supervisor-Coach maintains a corresponding list of accredited teaching supervisors. You will find the link to the list in the answers.

Simplified approval:
Candidates who have completed a counselling training course accepted by the Professional Association for Coaching, Supervision and Organizational Consulting (bso) or have a federal certificate as a company mentor do not have to provide written proof of participation in intervision groups and supervision by a teaching supervisor.

Candidates will receive written notification at least three months before the start of the Advanced Professional Examination as to whether they have been admitted to the Supervisor-Coach Examination. In the event of a negative decision, this will contain a statement of reasons and information on the right of appeal.

You do not (yet) fulfill all admission requirements for the Coaching Supervision training?
Some schools are prepared to admit you to an HFP preparation course even if you do not (yet) meet the admission requirements. But beware: In this case, you are responsible for ensuring that you actually meet the necessary requirements by the time you register for the examination or start the examination.

Coaching supervision training without the intention of an examination:
At some schools, it is also possible to attend the Supervisor-Coach course (HFP) without the intention of taking an exam. After successfully completing the course, you will usually receive a course confirmation and/or a certificate issued by the school. The admission requirements may also differ from school to school in this case. You should therefore contact the provider of your choice directly.

Learning material and content of the Coaching Supervision training

The relevant professional and personal counseling skills are acquired in the Coaching Supervision training through a combination of theory, supervision, case discussions in intervision groups and practical counseling work with professional support from a teaching supervisor.

The exact structure of the coaching supervision training in terms of the content taught varies from provider to provider. The following topics are often covered:

• Consulting processes and consulting models
• Conversation
• Learning processes
• Conflict psychology and conflict management
• Project management
• Team development
• Group processes
• Systemic intervention, etc.

Costs, financing and salary during the Coaching Supervision training

The fees for the preparatory courses for the Higher Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach are set independently by the providers. The fees can therefore vary from school to school.

In contrast to the course fees, the examination fee for the HFP is set by the federal examination sponsors and is binding for all candidates.

In general, the following costs must be expected for the 1.5 to 3-year in-service coaching supervision training:

• Course feesbetween CHF 12,200 and 31,400, of which you will receive around 50% back from the federal government after the examination (regardless of the result)*.
• Fee for the federal examinationCHF 4,000 (registration 1,000 / examination fee 3,000). Once admission has been confirmed, candidates pay the examination fee.
• Extra costsSome schools do not include the costs for teaching materials, training documents, registration fees or teaching supervision in the course fees. We recommend that you contact the provider of your choice directly to find out what additional costs you can expect.
• WagesThe Coaching Supervision training itself is not remunerated. Thanks to the part-time concept, you can and must pursue a (slightly reduced) professional activity during the training. Also remember: with the federal diploma in your hands and the assumption of more responsible tasks/leadership positions, your salary opportunities will increase. The training and the costs incurred will therefore pay for themselves in the foreseeable future.

*Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations (BP) and higher professional examinations (HFP) have been financially supported by the federal government. Graduates of these courses will therefore be reimbursed up to 50% (max. CHF 9,500 for BP, max. CHF 10,500 for HFP) of the course costs paid upon application after taking the federal examination. In exceptional cases of hardship, the federal contributions will also be paid out in advance.

Duration of studies, teaching times, teaching formats and learning effort

• Duration:The part-time Coaching Supervision course lasts 1.5 to 3 years.
• Times:The timetable or lesson times are defined independently by the schools. They can therefore vary. It is therefore best to contact the school of your choice directly.
• Teaching formats:The respective school decides independently which teaching formats are offered for coaching supervision training The range of teaching formats has grown considerably since the coronavirus pandemic. Traditional face-to-face teaching is now often supplemented by online and hybrid teaching as well as blended learning. You can therefore choose the format that allows you to combine further education with family, work and leisure in the best possible way. You can find out exactly how these teaching formats differ here: https://www.edugames.ch/unterrichtsformen/
• Learning effort:Thanks to the extra-occupational concept of the course, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for the preparation and follow-up of lessons and supervision sessions as well as counseling processes and self-learning time - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. As a precaution, we recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week.

Degree, diploma and title

The Higher Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach is held annually, provided that at least 10 candidates meet the admission requirements after the HFP is announced, or at least every two years. The federal examination can be taken in German, French and Italian. Candidates can decide for themselves in which language they wish to be examined.

Candidates will be called at least five weeks before the start of the higher professional examination. The invitation includes the following:

• the examination program (including details of the place and time of the examination as well as permitted aids and aids to be brought along),
• List of experts
• Assessment criteria for all parts of the examination.

The higher professional examination "Supervisor-Coach" is divided into four examination parts:

1) Diploma thesis (written, prepared in advance)

Candidates write a diploma thesis of approximately 50 to 60 pages. In it, they critically examine their own counseling practice as well as the available theory, approaches, methods and objectives.

In the diploma thesis, candidates describe a counseling process with an individual, a team or a group. In doing so, they demonstrate that they are able to describe a complex counseling process in a practice-oriented and independent manner and to reflect on and evaluate it accordingly.

The formal requirements and assessment criteria can be found in the guidelines.

2) Consulting concept (written, prepared in advance)

Candidates write a counseling concept of max. 10 pages. The counseling concept provides information about their counseling activities - for example, which image of humanity guides them or which theories and methods they use in their work, etc.

3) Live counseling and assessment (practical, 80 minutes)

In this part of the examination, candidates must provide live advice to a client in the role of supervisor/coach. In a second sequence, candidates must provide detailed feedback on a consultation they have observed. This is followed by an expert discussion in which the counseling sequence is analyzed.

4) Final colloquium (oral, 90 minutes)

In the last part of the examination, the final interview, candidates demonstrate that they are able to describe their own behavior as a supervisor-coach, reflect critically on it and justify, assess and develop it with reference to appropriate theories.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates of the higher professional examination receive a federal diploma and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Supervisor-Coach with Federal Diploma / Supervisor-Coach with Federal Diploma".

In French: "Superviseur-Coach avec diplôm fédéral"

In Italian: "Supervisore-Coach con diploma federale"

In English "Supervisor in Organizations, Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education" (not a protected title, merely a recommended translation)

With the federal diploma, an application for membership can be submitted to the Swiss Coaching Association (SCA) or the Professional Association for Coaching, Supervision and Organizational Consulting (bso), for example. As a rule, this should be possible without any further conditions.