Turning ambition into action with the support of ACAP

Sponsored by ACAP University College October 30, 2026

Monica Watt was homeless at 12. She went on to lead HR at ELMO Software and build her own coaching business. Then she went back to study, earning a recognised qualification through ACAP University College to back her coaching.

Monica Watt became homeless when she was just 12 years old. That experience was the starting point for the path she has taken since, which has led to her work today as a high-performance coach.

Her career has spanned roles in private companies, government departments and not-for-profits, alongside more than 23 years of volunteer service with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). As HR Group Chief at ELMO Software, her teams won Best Places to Work awards, and in 2022 she was nominated for Courageous Leader of the Year. Today she runs Incredible Buzz, a coaching business that empowers female business leaders.

Working without judgement

Monica is open about the judgement she faced earlier in life and how much she once looked to other people for approval. She says her varied career is how she’s able to sit with a client and bring no judgement into the room.

That shapes how she runs her business. “I back myself, I back my own decisions, and I back my clients, and that’s what Incredible Buzz is about.”

Getting her coaching credential

Anyone in Australia can call themselves a coach. There is no licence and no legal minimum standard, and Monica was aware of how many people offer coaching without formal training. She already asked her clients to keep developing, and she wanted to hold herself to the same standard.

She looked for an accredited course and found the Graduate Certificate of Applied Coaching at ACAP University College. “Having had a few conversations with ACAP about the course, I found there was just so much value behind it,” she says.

The course is studied online over eight months full time, or part time across four trimesters. Its four units cover coaching theory and practice, coaching for professional wellbeing and resilience, coaching in systems, and a final applied skills unit. The program is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for 170 hours of coach-specific training. Students finish with a performance assessment against the ICF Core Competencies, and graduates receive an ICF-Accredited Coaching Education Certificate at Level 1 or Level 2.

Her advice to other leaders facing a fast-changing workplace applies to her own decision too. “It comes back to constant and never-ending improvement.”

Learning that applies to the job

ACAP’s teaching is built around applied, practical learning, and its courses prepare graduates to support individuals, communities and organisations. Alongside coaching, ACAP teaches psychology, counselling, social work, criminology, law and management. That range gives people different entry points, whether they want to change careers or move up in the field they already work in.

Monica arrived with decades of leadership experience and left with a credential that tells clients she has been trained and assessed to an international standard.