<< Background >>As the most respected organisation in the ecosystem of coaching, ICF defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”Prior to the pandemic, the market was mostly tilted towards offering services in an offline format, with clients meeting their coach in their practice or by going for a walk together. Once the current macro-situation changed, coaches were faced with the decision of adapting fast or recognizing that they will lose their income. The effects of the pandemic were felt across the world. The proportion reporting one or more income and employment effects ranged from 71% in Asia and the Middle East and Africa to 62% in North America. Temporary business closures were reported by around one in five coaches in the emerging regions of Asia (21%), Eastern Europe (23%), the Middle East & Africa (20%), and Latin America and the Caribbean (19%). (ICF study COVID-19 and the Coaching Industry, 2021).The realities of lockdown and physical distancing over the past months have shown how invaluable digital skills are, with work, education and social life all happening in the digital space and with new technologies.Another result of the ICF study on the impact of COVID on coaching was that “since the pandemic, coach practitioners have adjusted their methods used to coach clients. Reflecting the nature of the pandemic, there has been a sharp decrease in coaching in person (80%). Mainly, coach practitioners have increased their use of audio-video platforms (74%).”Therefore it is necessary to increase the digital skills and competencies of coaches to allow them to better serve their clients and sustain their business; and enhance the knowledge exchange on the skills and competencies that coaches providing services online should master. The online coaching market has increased competition as many online platforms have been introduced worldwide and are providing various types of coaching in just one click. The category of coaches is not only limited to educational or corporate purposes but also certain life coaches, relationship coaches, health and fitness coaches, career coaches, entrepreneurship coaches have become a trend. (Allied Market Research, 2020)The study also notices that internal coach practitioners (including respondents who self-identified as both internal and external practitioners) when asked about the outlook for the role of coaching within their own organization said they are ”very confident” that coaching would continue to have a role over the next 6 months (46%).<< Objectives >>COACH-IT develops a user-driven, evidence-based and recognised training program, that provides those that are active as coaches, with the knowledge, skills and competencies to develop their online coaching services, while at the same time ensuring (or increasing) the quality of the intervention and taking into account the needs of their clients.<< Implementation >>A successful program must be grounded in reality, i.e. based on the needs and expectations of the target audience, and is in line with the realities of coaching in a post-pandemic and increasingly digitalized society. The PR1 Compendium & Curriculum enables the identification and analysis of the context of coaching in general and of coaching over the internet, existing practice and skills gaps, and the creation of the learning approach and objectives for the PR2 Training Programme.As previously indicated, ensuring the quality of online coaching services and making sure the clients receive the services they need requires a more formal recognition of coach skills, so that potential clients can identify those coaches who can provide quality online coaching. As a result, PR3 sets up a framework for recognizing the skills acquired, both across the participating ICF chapters, as well as for transferring this recognition on a European or even global level, not only during but even after the project lifetime. The potential transference of the COACH-IT qualification into regular coaching programs as well as other vocational training programs is considered to ensure that the COACH-IT qualification remains of high quality even in the long run.<< Results >>The main target groups are the prospective coaches and already active coaches, who will benefit from the courses developed under the project as their skills and competencies around online coaching, and the provision of online coaching services will be enhanced. The program addresses what skills are needed for online coaching, how to define your coaching presence and particularly, how to coach online in a meaningful way for the clients. This will have a strong impact on the competitiveness of coaches and their professional development. At the same time, it will allow them to be better prepared to address a broader market and increase their marketability., as they will be better adapted to the emerging trends and demands from a digitalized (post-pandemic) society.