A professional body has been set up to implement national scheme for HR professionals. This announcement was made by Minister of State for Manpower Teo Ser Luck at IHRP (Institute for Human Resource Professionals) certification ceremony, wherein 88 HR professionals were conferred under a pilot run by Workforce Singapore.
HRP will be the tripartite professional body to implement and drive adoption of this national HR certification, which will be known as “IHRP Certification”. The IHRP would also open new opportunities for collaboration among HR industry players, such as in HR training and development, leading to a more cohesive HR ecosystem.
Mr Teo stressed on the importance of building up skills of HR professionals since they have a key role of developing workers throughout their careers, to ensure businesses have trained and skilled workforce. “As we urge our workforce to upskill and reskill, so too must our HR professionals ‘adapt and grow’ to more effectively partner their businesses in the transformation journey,” Teo was quoted by the Straits Times.
With some 40,000 HR professionals in the country, the IHRP is set up by the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).
Mr Teo further announced that Ms Goh Swee Chen, chairman of Shell companies in Singapore and SNEF council vice-president, will chair the IHRP board. More details on the IHRP plans will be announced later this year.
As the economy transforms, HR has a strategic role to play in organizational transformation. She urged participants to complete pilot assessment lead, guide and support the HR professional community to be a key stakeholder in the transformation of Singapore’s economy.
Mid-career executives, fresh polytechnic and ITE graduates keen to join the sector can tap onto the Professional Conversion Programme and SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme for HR, said Mr Teo.
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He further added, “While the IHRP certification framework sets the benchmark for competencies and behaviours of future-ready HR professionals, a HR professional’s career and skills development is a continuous process – one that starts before certification and continues even after achieving certification. Hence, we are progressively putting in place other initiatives to help HR professionals develop and grow throughout their careers.”
Collectively, IHRP certification and other initiatives to strengthen the HR profession form part of a wider HR Industry Manpower Plan that will be unveiled later this year.
There will also be SkillsFuture Study Awards for HR workers to upgrade their skills. Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) president Erman Tan said, the institute will continue to provide a networking platform for its 3,000 members, conduct research and advocacy on HR.
This will allow IHRP to focus on certifying people and reviewing the national professional standards, so they keep pace with the changing business environment. This certification is an important strategy to ensure standards can be maintained and progress over time. SHRI will encourage its members to join the new framework.
It will also have a conversion programme to support those with HR accreditation from SHRI in moving to the new framework. Those who want to find out more about the certification can register their interest at www.ihrp.sg.
Also read: 10 Guiding Principles for CHROs to Lead the HR Transformation Journey
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