From Corporate to Coach: How a Level 5 Apprenticeship Launched a New Career

Redundancy can feel like an ending. A setback. Loss of identity wrapped up in a job title and a desk at a multinational company. But for Tracey Horan, it became a beginning. A chance to step into something she'd been building the confidence to do for months. Because while she was working at Linde—one of the world's largest industrial gases and engineering companies—she wasn't just doing her job. She was studying for a Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship with TESS Group. And when redundancy came, she had both the qualifications and the self-belief to start her own coaching business.

This is a story about transformation. Not the overnight kind. The kind that builds month by month, through structured learning, real practice, and someone believing in your potential.

The Starting Point: Tracey at Linde

Tracey was working in a substantial corporate environment. Linde operates globally across dozens of countries, managing complex engineering projects, safety systems, and large teams. The kind of organisation where structure matters, standards are high, and professional development is available—but takes intentional choices to pursue.

But Tracey saw something in the coaching approach that her intuition told her mattered. She understood that the way you talk to people, the questions you ask, the space you create for them to think—that shapes outcomes. It shapes culture. It shapes whether people step up or step back.

She decided she wanted to be trained as a coach. Not as a side interest. As a formal, recognised qualification that would set her apart and give her real capability.

Why Coaching Professional Level 5: Building Real Qualifications

The Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship isn't a weekend workshop. It's a rigorous, recognised qualification pathway. Tracey worked towards CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Level 5 Coaching credentials—the same qualifications respected by employers and recognised internationally.

Here's what that meant in practice:

But the qualification was never the only point. The apprenticeship gave Tracey something more valuable than a certificate: it gave her lived experience. Every month, she participated in group workshops where she could test her understanding alongside peers. Every week, she had one-to-one coaching sessions with her skills coach, Nicola Dulson, who provided tailored feedback and guidance. And every day, she had opportunities to apply what she was learning in her actual job at Linde.

The Apprenticeship Experience: Monthly Workshops and Supervised Practice

Real apprenticeships don't happen in classrooms. They happen where the work is.

Tracey's programme combined structured learning—monthly group workshops where she connected with other coaches-in-training—with intensive one-to-one support from Nicola. The group sessions gave her peer learning and accountability. The one-to-one sessions gave her personalised coaching on her own coaching.

This dual approach matters because coaching is a skill that develops through doing. You can understand the theory. You can learn the models. But until you've had a difficult coaching conversation with someone real, with real stakes, you haven't actually developed the capability.

Tracey was doing that coaching. With colleagues at Linde, in real situations, with real complexity. And each week, she brought that experience to Nicola and processed it—what worked, where she got stuck, how she'd handle it differently next time.

The Turning Point: Redundancy as Opportunity

Then redundancy came.

For some people, that would have derailed the apprenticeship. But Tracey was well into her journey. She was confident in what she'd learned. She understood coaching frameworks deeply. She'd had dozens of supervised practice conversations. She had a recognised qualification on the horizon.

Redundancy, which could have been an ending, became something else: a catalyst.

Instead of staying in a secure corporate role, Tracey made the decision to launch her own independent coaching business. Not on a whim. Not out of desperation. But because she had the training, the qualifications, and the evidence from months of supervised practice that she could do this work well.

From Employee to Entrepreneur: The Outcome

Tracey completed her Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship. She achieved the qualification. And then she did something that requires real courage: she built a sustainable coaching business from the ground up.

This wasn't a given. Self-employment is risky. Building a client base takes time. Establishing trust as an independent practitioner takes consistency and credibility.

But Tracey had something critical: a formal qualification, a body of evidence about her coaching capability, and months of supervised practice to draw on. When she approached potential clients, she could point to real preparation, not just enthusiasm. When she had a challenging coaching situation, she could draw on frameworks she'd studied deeply and practiced extensively.

The apprenticeship didn't just train her. It gave her the confidence and credentials to stand alone.

What This Means for Employers: You're Building Transferable Skills

Tracey's story matters for organisations considering whether coaching apprenticeships are worth the investment.

Yes, you develop coaching capability that transforms your culture. Yes, people have better conversations with their teams right away. But there's something deeper: you're building a qualification and confidence that stays with people, regardless of what happens next.

When Tracey was made redundant, she didn't lose her learning. She took it with her. She built an independent business on the foundation of that formal qualification. And somewhere down the line, if she wanted to return to corporate work, she'd bring coaching as a genuine capability, not just something she'd attended a training for.

That's the value of apprenticeships done well. They create people who are more capable, more confident, and more valuable—to you, and to themselves.

What This Means for Individuals: A Funded Route to Professional Transformation

If you're in a job and you're thinking about what's next—whether that's progression where you are, a move into coaching as a specialism, or eventually something different altogether—a Coaching Professional apprenticeship is a structured, funded way to build a transferable, recognised qualification.

You don't have to wait until you've left your job. You don't have to pay for training out of your own pocket. You can develop this capability while you're earning, with a skills coach who's invested in your learning, on a pathway that leads to a real credential.

That's exactly what Tracey did. And whether you stay in your current role, progress within your organisation, or—like Tracey—use the qualification to step out and build something new, you've got something that's yours to keep.

Hear From Others on the Coaching Path

Tracey's journey isn't unique. Across our Coaching Professional programmes, we see people transform their capability and confidence:

The feedback is consistent: the combination of group learning, one-to-one coaching support, and real-world practice creates genuine transformation.

Ready to Start Your Coaching Journey?

Whether you're looking to develop coaching capability for your team, build on existing leadership skills, or—like Tracey—develop a recognised qualification that opens new possibilities, the Coaching Professional Level 5 apprenticeship is proven.

For individuals, it's a funded route to a qualification that you own and can take anywhere. For employers, it's a way to develop coaching culture that lasts beyond any single person or programme.