Cowboy coaches and mentors could be put out of business following the Qualification and Curriculum Authority’s announcement that it is recommending the acceptance of a new suite of national occupational standards.

More bad new for the cowboys comes from Europe, as 12 organisations achieved the Quality Standard Award from the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.

Eric Parsloe, director of the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring, said: “This means we now have a clear, coherent and rigorous framework of definitions and competencies for coaching and mentoring performance for line managers, and in-company specialists as well as those operating as independent professionals.”