Registered human resource practitioners hit 10,000

IHRM executive director Dorcas Wainaina. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By JAMES NGUNJIRI

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Summary

• By 2020 only licensed HR professionals will be allowed to practice.
• Already IHRM has developed local content for HR professionals especially those undertaking the Certified Human Resource Professionals’ (CHRP) examination, which will be the minimum entry requirement for IHRM membership in the next three years.
• The current HR curriculum examined by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) will be phased out in 2020.

Registered Human Resource (HR) professionals have hit over 10,000 from 2,600 in June 2016, as the effort to certify HR professionals gathers pace.

The Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM), the regulator of the profession, estimates that there are about 25,000 HR professionals in the country.

By 2020 only licensed HR professionals will be allowed to practice. Already IHRM has developed local content for HR professionals especially those undertaking the Certified Human Resource Professionals’ (CHRP) examination, which will be the minimum entry requirement for IHRM membership in the next three years.

The current HR curriculum examined by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) will be phased out in 2020.

IHRM last week said it is collaborating with the Public Service Commission (PSC) to change the scheme of service that will make CHRP a requirement for all HR professionals by 2020.

“What that means is that by 2021, the entry requirement of membership for IHRM will be CHRP. For those who are already members, they will not be forced to do it by the institute, but the market will dictate that they must acquire the certification,” said IHRM executive director Dorcas Wainaina.

Speaking during the release of the CHRP November/December 2017 examination results in Nairobi, Ms Wainaina said gaps identified in the HR profession calls for regulation to address.

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IHRM council national chairman Elijah Sitimah said the Human Resource Management Professionals Examination Board (HRMPEB) has managed to register 1,200 new candidates drawn from both public and private sectors.

“I encourage those in the profession both in public and private sectors to enrol for CHRP before the end of the transition period in 2020. I also encourage more learning institutions to apply for accreditation while the accredited should take the lead from their end,” said Mr Sitimah.

The CHRP 2017 examination started in August after the release of the June/July 2017 exams which was then followed by last week’s release of November/December 2017 exams results.

The latter examinations took place in 10 examination centres.