HR officers to register before 2020 deadline

Human resource (HR) practitioners have less than a year to be registered with their professional body as it moves to weed out quacks.

Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM) IHRM executive director Doreen Wainaina said they would work with employers to lock out individuals who won't have the required papers by 2020.

“For us if you are practicing but you are not registered and do not have a licence then you are a quack. You should have registered during the five years we have been advocating for this,” she said.

The number of registered an certified HR professionals currently stands at 16,000 having risen from 6,500 two years ago.

Overall the number of people in the profession is estimated at 25,000.

Database

The IHRM has created a database for all professionals registered with it as well as their licences enabling the verification of details at the click of a button.

Ms Wainaina was speaking during release of the fourth series of Certified Human Resource Professionals (CHRP) examinations for 781 candidates on Thursday at Safari Club, Nairobi.

At the same time, the executive director decried the low number of women at the top level positions of HR leadership, especially in blue chip companies, with most stuck in middle level positions at a time when the world is looking at achieving a 50-50 balance in the workplace by 2020.

“If you look around in the country especially in the listed companies the heads are men. How does the shift happen? Is it the lack of boldness from women to jump to higher positions?” She posed.