Firework Career Coaching

What Firework Career Coaching does

Firework Career Coaching is a UK-based education and credentialing business operating as a trading division of Careershifters Limited, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Covent Garden, London. The company operates a 6-month online training program that certifies existing professional coaches in a proprietary career change coaching methodology, awarding 19 ICF Continuing Coach Education Units (CCEUs) and a lifelong licence to use the framework and 50+ exercises/tools (white-labelled for the coach's own brand). Training runs in three annual cohorts (March, June, November) of 12–16 participants, with a blended tuition of £2,595–£2,995 per participant, plus a reduced-rate Career Coach Circle membership for ongoing peer support.

The business model is a B2B2C training-and-licensing model: Firework sells directly to professional coaches via an application-based enrollment funnel (website interest form followed by conversations with Firework Ambassadors), and those licensed coaches in turn deliver career change coaching services to end clients (mid-career professionals, executives, returners, graduates, and pre-retirees) using the Firework framework. The proprietary technology is the structured yet flexible coaching framework itself — Explore, Dream, Discover — underpinned by design thinking and experiential learning principles, with no software platform, mobile app, or AI/ML components disclosed. The company is B Corp certified, ICF-accredited, GDPR-compliant, and has trained 700+ licensed coaches serving clients across the UK, Ireland, continental Europe, the USA, Australia, the UAE, and Malaysia.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time training fees (with optional 6-month installment plans) and a secondary recurring stream from Career Coach Circle membership. Go-to-market is sales-led and content-driven, leveraging the Firework Insights blog, an annual International Career Coaching Report (industry research published with John Lees), the Career Coach Scorecard lead-generation tool, LinkedIn presence, and Trustpilot social proof. The company is founder-led (Richard Alderson, founder of Careershifters; Marianne Craig, co-founder) with a 15-person team, fully bootstrapped, with no external funding rounds disclosed.

Name

Firework Career Coaching

Legal name

Careershifters Limited

Website

https://fireworkcoaching.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Firework Career Coaching, a UK-based division of Careershifters Limited, delivers ICF-accredited 6-month online training that certifies existing professional coaches in a proprietary career change coaching framework, serving 700+ licensed coaches globally across 3 annual cohorts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Coaching Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Supported Employment & Job Coaching (EDAKANAE)

Keywords

• Career coaching training
• ICF accredited training
• Professional coach certification
• Career change coaching
• Coaching methodology licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Coach Training Course Fees: One-time fees for the 6-month ICF-accredited career coach training program. Participants pay either a discounted early-bird fee or standard participation fee, with optional monthly payment plans over 6 installments. Includes lifelong licence and all training materials.
2. Career Coach Circle Membership: Reduced-rate membership access to the Career Coach Circle community for ongoing peer support and practice development. Available exclusively to licensed Firework coaches.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Firework Career Coaching sells a 6-month, ICF-accredited online training program that certifies existing professional coaches in a proprietary career change coaching methodology. The training includes three half-day core sessions, expert sessions, mentoring calls, and white-labelled client materials, awarding 19 ICF CCEUs and a lifelong licence to use the framework. Supporting offerings include the invite-only Career Coach Circle community for licensed coaches.

Product overview

Firework Career Coaching offers a portfolio of coaching-related services centered around its ICF-accredited Firework Career Coach Training program—a 6-month online training course that certifies existing coaches in career change coaching methodology. The core training product includes structured frameworks, 50+ exercises, white-labelled materials, and ongoing support. Supporting offerings include the Career Coach Circle (an invite-only community for licensed coaches) and the annual International Career Coaching Report (industry research). The company operates as a B Corp certified business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Career Coach Circle: An invite-only community for ambitious career coaches to sharpen their skills and grow their coaching practices together
• Firework Career Coach Training

Products and services

• Firework Career Coach Training
• Career Coach Circle

Quantifiable outcome

• Positive ROI typically achieved within first 2-3 clients at median package rate of £1,500
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CareershifterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareershifters is the parent organization of Firework Coaching. Founded by Richard Alderson, Careershifters has reached 8 million+ people and worked directly with 16,000+ career change clients. The organizations share founders and methodology, with Firework training coaches who serve Careershifters' broader audience of career changers.
• Career Coach CirclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn invite-only community for ambitious career coaches to sharpen their skills and grow their coaching practices together. Reduced-rate membership is included with Firework training, and the community supports ongoing professional development for licensed coaches.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Animas Centre for Coaching: UK-based ICF-accredited coach training provider offering diploma and certificate programs for aspiring professional coaches. Most directly comparable as another UK-headquartered ICF-accredited coach training school serving the same customer segment.
• iPEC Coaching: ICF-accredited coach training organization offering Core Energy Coaching and certification paths for professional coaches, operating globally with a comparable accredited training and certification model.
• Barefoot Coaching: ICF-accredited coach training program with multi-level certifications, similar in structure to Firework in delivering accredited coach education with mentor support and white-labelled tools.

Others

• International Coach Federation (ICF): The global accrediting body for professional coaching that issues Firework's CCEUs and accreditation. Not a direct competitor but the standards-setting ecosystem partner whose frameworks shape Firework's curriculum and credibility.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry Advance: Global organizational consulting firm with a substantial career transition and outplacement practice. Serves corporates for career coaching at scale but as part of a much broader HR consulting portfolio.
• Co-Active Training Institute: One of the largest and longest-established coach training organizations globally, offering ICF-accredited programs across multiple coaching niches. Broader portfolio than Firework but operates in the same professional coach training category.
• LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison): Major career transition and outplacement provider, part of the Adecco Group, delivering career coaching at corporate scale. Operates adjacent to Firework's downstream market of career changers but at the enterprise level.
• The School of Life: Founded by Alain de Botton, offers career coaching, career change programs, and related educational content. Operates as a broader education/wellbeing platform but competes in the career coaching space with both services and content products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firework-career-coaching

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Firework Career Coaching