A wide range of job coach responsibilities requires that they constantly broaden their skills, improve their competencies and expand their knowledge.
The substantive scope of job coach training should be tailored to an individual profile or preferences of the job coach. As a minimum, they should have knowledge of the following:
- Supported Employment and its ideology;
- The professional role, tasks, competencies and the ethical code of conduct of a job coach;
- The specificity of working with disabled persons;
- Career development support for people with disabilities;
- Supported employment marketing as well as job searching methods;
- Labour market conditions, job centres, legal and institutional solutions in the area of professional activity of disabled people.
The training should also include the development of soft skills which are necessary for job coaches to perform their tasks efficiently. These can be communication skills, conflict management or assertiveness.
Personal development of the job coach can be fostered by their mentor’s presence (this might be another job coach). Based on their own competencies and experience, the mentor helps the job coach familarise themselves with their responsibilities and search for new ideas and solutions.
Organisation of group meetings in order to facilitate the exchange of experience among job coaches working with people from similar environments and with the same types of disability but in different administrative regions is equally important.
The „Guidelines on Service Provision by Job Coaches” present the principles of job coach training. The publication describes aspects such as organisational conditions, training curricula and training materials for both instructors and trainees. It also contains a compendium for the job coach – a presentation of the legal basis for supported employment activities.
Guidelines on Service Provision by Job Coaches
Set 2: Principles of Job Coach training
PDF: Polish version – 2240 KB
Guidelines on Service Provision by Job Coaches
Set 2: Principles of Job Coach training
PDF: English version – 2269 KB