Candice Winterboer, 40, is a brave woman. 10 years ago she started an online marketing business. Eight years later, despite her entrepreneurial success, she sold up and channelled her career efforts in a completely different direction.
That takes courage.
Candice decided to enrol at SACAP. Initially she signed up for the Diploma in Counselling and Communication Skills. However, she discovered that her true passion lies in coaching people.
Candice completed her Coach Practitioner Programme through SACAP in 2018. We asked her if she’d recommend the course and whether it’s helping her achieve what she’s doing today. Here’s what she has to say…
Revisiting roots
Why coaching? “I spent years in digital marketing. My niche was copywriting,” she explains. “While I loved solving problems, I’ve come to realise I need to do something that aligns with my passion.”
Candice was exposed to organizational psychology as part of her BCom studies at university, she says. “I’ve always been interested in mental health and self development. I knew I wanted to work with people, but in my 20s I just didn’t feel like I’d had enough life experience yet. I didn’t feel ready.”
Almost two decades later what Candice was ready for, she’d realised, was change. “I’d come to recognise that my business was no longer aligned with my needs,” she says. “After six months of deliberation with my own career coach I decided to sell and start studying part-time at SACAP.”
Shifting gears
Candice enrolled for the Diploma in Counselling and Communication Skills. “I was very busy wrapping up the sale of my business so I took a term off. The downtime was an opportunity to take stock and re-evaluate.”
Candice shifted her focus. “The diploma made me realise I didn’t want to get stuck in peoples’ pasts,” she admits. “I knew I wanted to do something more pro active.”
Buoyed by a renewed sense of purpose she switched courses and enrolled for SACAP’s Coach Practitioner Programme. It’s a decision that catalysed a brand-new chapter in her career.
Back to balance
Instead of tight deadlines and very little work-life balance, today Candice honours the core values that really make her tick. She runs a coaching practice from her new home in Hoedspruit.
She has a two-pronged approach. “On the one hand I offer business coaching to entrepreneurs and small business owners. On the other, I foster self-actualisation and the concept of knowing yourself. The more you know yourself the more likely you are to make good relationship and career choices,” she explains.
Best of both worlds
While Candice knew she was keen to pursue business coaching as a career prospect she’s grateful SACAP’s Coach Practitioner Programme offers a diverse coaching scope.
“From the very first class I attended, I knew I was on the right path,” she says. “The course has a blended learning approach. Over six months classes were held online and face-to-face in the evenings or on consecutive days. This gave us time in between to really integrate what we were taught.”
It’s a style of learning Candice values. “I know pure online works, but I’m very glad the course was a mixture,” she says. “Something practical like coaching benefits hugely from in-person communication, I think. Being in each other’s space adds more complexity and you get to know people more deeply.”
Nurturing networks
Making deep connections with others on the course was a highpoint, Candice says. “I loved being in the classroom with adults and I really value the friendships I’ve made.”
Maturity plays a part too. “Studying later in life is a totally different experience. It’s not like when you’re at school. Coming to class when you’re older is fun!”
Thumbs up for SACAP
Would she recommend SACAP’s Coach Practitioner Programme? “Yes,” says Candice. “The course work is great. It has a very keen focus on the psychology aspect of coaching, which I think is important.”
What really sets it apart are its credentials, she adds. “When I first began my research into coaching qualifications I didn’t know anything about credentialing with one of the coaching bodies like the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or COMENSA. It was really important for me to do a course that would allow me to credential, and SACAP’s coaching course is recognised by both organisations”.
Significant skill set
Business coaching is only part of the bouquet of professional services Candice hopes to hone in the future. “I’m especially keen on being able to offer programmes in trauma,” she says. “Helping people deal with points of big change – divorce, death, Covid – is incredibly necessary in South Africa.”
Want to do crucial work, too? SACAP’s Coach Practitioner programme is ideal for working professionals. You can study part-time while working fulltime.
In our fast-paced, ever-changing global environment coaching is rapidly becoming an essential skill set. Stay ahead of the curve. Find out more about SACAP’s coaching courses. Or register here now!