Dubai-based organisational psychologist Shirley Attenborough of human resources company, Innovative HR Solutions (IHS), has joined forces with UK-based Culture at Work to offer “coaching workshops” for corporations and individuals for the first time in the UAE.

IHS has scheduled its first coaching workshop in February, which will be run by Shirley Attenborough, the company’s director of executive coaching, and Culture at Work’s managing director Carol Wilson.
The workshops take place across a two-week period and are recognised by the UK Association for Coaching and provide credits towards Portsmouth University’s MSc in Coaching. The first workshop runs from February 14 to 16, with a two-day follow up the week after.
Attenborough, who focuses on executive coaching with objectives that are measurable against company performance, said that there was a need in the Dubai market for accreditation of coaches to be pushed to the forefront.
She said: “To date in the UAE, there have been few  real benchmarks or standards for coaches, who have grown in numbers  here over the last 18 months. Best practice coaching requires an understanding of psychology, so an internationally recognised qualification is highly desirable.”
Attenborough holds both a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Organisational Psychology. Her particular field of expertise is solution-focused coaching - Attenborough uses a variety of coaching frameworks, based upon recognised techniques and cognitive behavioural approaches.
The coaching workshops will enable participants to receive a recognised qualification and Attenborough said: “The introduction of such qualifications in the UAE should have a significant effect on raising the standards of coaching in the country.”
The workshops are open to both individuals who wish to work as coaches and line managers who wish to develop their skills in this area.
UK-based Wilson, who is partnering with Attenborough for the workshop, has trained more than 400 coaches. She first experienced the potential of a coaching culture while on the board of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.