The course is externally accredited by the Civil Mediation Council, the International Mediation Institute, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, The Mediation Standards Board Australia and The New York Courts ADR Office.

Successful completion of the training and associated assessments will result in you becoming an accredited mediator. There are three bodies with whom you can achieve accreditation:

a) The International Mediation Institute (IMI)

b) The Civil Mediation Council (CMC)

c) The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)

Accreditation with the CMC, IMI and CIArb are achieved by successfully completing the training schedule and a practical assessment. This practical assessment consists of trainees performing a 95-minute recorded mediation. This assessment takes place on the final day of the training timetable.

The training is delivered by practicing mediators with decades of experience in mediation practice and training. Our panel includes solicitors, barristers and university professors as well as mediators from other professions. 

Participants can expect to acquire an understanding of the theoretical and practical skills underpinning mediation and an awareness of the use of mediation in different contexts.

The training course has a strong process and skills development orientation.

The course covers the following content:

• An introduction to Mediation

• Mediation around the globe

• The psychology of conflict

• Communication Strategies

• Power Dynamics

• Mediation Theory

• Step by step Mediation process in theory and practice

• Mediation Ethics

• Negotiation Masterclass

• Career Building Modules

To accommodate all delegates, PDSL delivers its accredited courses in three different formats:

1) 5-day intensive course, 9 am - 5 pm everyday

2) 5-week course, 9 am - 5 pm on Fridays

3) 8-week weekend course, 9 am - 1 pm on Saturdays

To accommodate all delegates, PDSL delivers its accredited courses in three different formats:

1) 5-day intensive course, 9 am - 5 pm everyday

2) 5-week course, 9 am - 5 pm on Fridays

3) 8-week weekend course, 9 am - 1 pm on Saturdays

In accordance with Civil Mediation Council guidelines, the PDSL Mediation training programme allows a maximum of 30 delegates per session. 

The training will be assessed through practical assessments. After four days’ training, the practical assessment will take place in form of a recorded mediation session. 

Each delegate is provided with a resource package at the point of registration. The package contains course materials, a course itinerary and a chapter from the textbook “Getting to Yes” by William Ury and Robert Fisher, as well as other training resources. 

Mediators come from varying backgrounds, and contrary to popular belief, being a lawyer is not a prerequisite to becoming a mediator. This is because mediation is not an intrinsically legal process. Rather, conflicts take place in every field of work, and the people suited to resolving those conflicts are the people from within those fields. Consequently, a civil engineer might choose to become a mediator and specialise in dealing with building and construction-related disputes. In the long term, their project management skills and experience might also allow them to mediate project-related conflicts in other fields such as IT. Someone from a medical background may qualify as a mediator and undertake mediation in clinical negligence and other NHS-related conflicts. Other professionals who regularly attend mediation training courses are as follows:

• Business Leaders
• HR Professionals 
• Coaches
• Counsellors
• Psychologists 
• Civil Servants
• Trade Union Representatives
• Managers

IMI is a world-recognized organisation driving transparency and high competency standards in mediation practice across fields, worldwide. The International Mediation Institute (“IMI”) is the only organization in the world to transcend local jurisdictions to develop global, professional standards for experienced mediators, advocates and others involved in collaborative dispute resolution and negotiation processes. An IMI qualification means that you have undertaken mediation training compliant with the international standards adopted by the IMI and its associates. 

Three broad fields within mediation can be identified:

Civil/Commercial Mediation
Civil & commercial mediations are the mainstream area of practice within the mediation profession. Almost all civil & commercial disputes can be mediated. This includes low-value neighbourhood disputes to multi-million pound corporate disputes. 
The focus within civil/commercial mediations is to negotiate mutually beneficial terms for both parties. In some cases, parties may want to protect long-standing business relationships and confidentiality. 

Workplace Mediation
Workplace conflicts are an unavoidable reality in an organisation’s existence. Where two or more interdependent colleagues develop personal or professional grievances with each other, the hidden and visible costs can have a devastating impact on the productivity of their work and therefore the organisation. 
Through mediation, disputes are not only resolved, but in some cases prevented before reaching the complaints stage. Workplaces mediation plays a key role in preventing time-consuming formal proceedings such as grievances, employment tribunals and civil claims..

Family Mediation 
Family mediation is the only form of mediation currently mandatory in the UK. It focuses predominantly on divorce and separation proceedings. Family mediation is highly emotional and can often include very sensitive domestic issues. 
Individuals from a family law or counselling background may see family mediation as their preferred form of mediation.
 

Our standard mediation training course initiates delegates with different kinds of disputes including civil/commercial, work-place and neighbourhood issues. Accordingly, delegates will be able to mediate all kinds of disputes (with the exception of mandatory family mediations).

The first thing to appreciate here is that mediation is not a formally regulated profession. There is no single regulatory body that you must be registered or certified with in order to legally practice as a mediator. So technically, your cat can call itself a mediator, and it would not be entirely wrong!

However, the lack of formal regulation meant that the industry had to organically develop ways to regulate and maintain standards for training and service provision. As a result, some organisations have established themselves as authorities in the field of mediation by providing a quasi-regulatory framework for mediators who voluntarily choose to associate with them. So, although you don’t technically need any training, to have real credibility as a mediator, you will want to train in accordance with the requirements of these bodies and be “certified” or “accredited” by them.

In England and Wales, the main authority in the field of mediation is the Civil Mediation Council (CMC). It is the first point of contact for the Government, the judiciary, the legal profession and industry on mediation issues. As a result, you will want to attend a course which is approved by the Civil Mediation Council. Consequently, upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to register with the CMC and have their stamp of approval in the market.

Other mediation bodies include the International Mediation Institute (IMI) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb.)

Mediation is the fastest growing method of dispute resolution in the UK and internationally. In the UK, the number of mediations is increasing by 20% per annum with 12,000 commercial mediations being performed in 2018. Whilst the industry has traditionally been dominated by a select group of “elite” mediators, growing numbers of mediations means greater distribution of work and more opportunity for newcomers. 

As with other professional qualifications, the completion of training is followed by a period gaining experience as a mediator. Experience can be acquired by shadowing established mediators, attending supervised mediations and acting as a co-mediator. Newly qualified mediators may also find community mediation opportunities with their local council or options to conduct mediations through their workplace. 

Streams of work for a mediator may vary. Some persons may undertake the course to avail internal mediation opportunities within their organisations. Others may choose to do so in order to enhance career mobility and adopt mediation as a separate part-time or full-time career. 

In the latter scenario, mediators will need to market themselves. They may join different mediation providers and register on the CMC and IMI mediator lists to increase their chances of acquiring work. Designing your own website and networking for work are also important. 

PDSL recognises that other mediation training providers may not be doing enough in helping their delegates get work post-training. We therefore place an emphasis career-building modules during the course as well as post-training facilitation, which can be discovered in greater detail here.
 

According to the CEDR annual audit, those undertaking between 20 and 30 mediations a year can expect to earn between £22,000 and £106,000 with an average of £68,000. Those mediators undertaking between 30 and 50 mediations a year are earning between £65,000 and £400,000, with an average of £175,000.
The average fee for a less experienced mediator for a one-day mediation is £1,512. 
Average fees for more experienced mediators are currently £3,627.
It should be noted however that significant commitment and time is required to carve out a career as a mediator. This process is extremely difficult for fresh trainees who have little knowledge of what the dynamics and ground-realities of the industry are. Our mission at PDSL is to enable as many people willing to make the effort to become successful mediators to gain the highest level of training possible as well as an insight into exactly what it takes to succeed in the profession. 
 

The programme brings to life advanced mediation theory in a practical setting through the field’s most imminent professionals. The schedule is designed to provide a truly transformative professional learning experience, which is in equal part demanding, challenging, rigorous and rewarding. Over 5 days, candidates will discover conflict resolution in a new light and gain personalised one on one roleplay training to apply their new skills. The trainers will interact with the delegates collectively, but also on an individual level, ensuring that attendees’ mediation techniques are developed in accordance with their strengths and weakness.
Day 1

-          Formal Opening/Introduction
-          Introduction to ADR and Mediation
-          Global and historical overview of Mediation
-          Psychology of Conflict
-          Pre-Mediation and Mediation Stage 2 (Opening Sessions) theory
-          Opening Session Roleplay – with an emphasis on skills and ethics

Day 2

-          Mediation Ethics
-          Mediation Private Sessions - Theory
-          Mediation Private Sessions Roleplays – with an e emphasis on rapport building
-          Mediation Private Sessions 2 Theory

Day 3

-          Mediation Private Sessions 2 Roleplays – Emphasis on Interests v Position
-          Negotiation Masterclass – Includes creative problem solving
-          Negotiation Roleplays
-          Mock Preparations
Day 4 & 5
- Mock Assessments and final feedback
- Final Assessments