The Importance of Qualifications in HRM

It is not unusual to find HR Managers with no HR qualifications.  Often, staff working in Human Resources have come from other fields such as training and development, administration, clerical roles or even general management roles. It seems though that once they move into HR, they do not stop still long enough to study!

It is quite ironic as HR practitioners are most often the ones who support and encourage their employees to attend training and gain qualifications. They certainly know the value of learning and are at the frontline of skills development, yet, it seems, they are often to time poor to (at least in a formal sense) learn themselves.

These assumptions have been gained from statistics and anecdotal evidence gathered over the past 2 years from over 150 HR managers. Statistics gathered from HR programs conducted over the last 2 years  (2007- 2009) indicate  that nearly all the participants of HR Diploma programs run for experienced HR practitioners are women.

86% of these women hold no tertiary or post school qualification and, of the remaining 14% only 8% hold a tertiary qualification  equal to or higher than a Diploma with the remaining 6% holding a Certificate Level qualification at or below a level IV.   These statistics are surprising especially in a field that values learning and understands the benefits of workplace learning, transferable skills and nationally recognised qualifications.

Based on the overwhelming response we have had to ‘fast-track’, ‘intensive study mode’ and RPL options for HRM Diploma programs,  one can only assume that these women are themselves just too busy to gain a qualification in the ‘usual’ manner (i.e. 12-18months of night school classes).