I imagine most of you are here today because you want to find out more about the job of a coach. Some of you will be sceptical about its benefits, others will have already started making a career out of coaching. I myself have been a coach since the late 90s, but our academy was set up more recently in 2004 in response to a demand for more formal training in the field. We are a private institution and don't rely on any government funding. Our aim was to try to professionalise an industry which until then had been, in this country at any rate, rather disorganised and unregulated. We now have over 450 members and run 12 courses a year in various types of coaching. These range from day seminars for people who are already practising as coaches to four-week courses for the beginner.