Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management

The Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management will provide a thorough grounding in human resource (HR) management. It combines an emphasis on the development of HR management strategies with opportunities to develop skills essential for practitioners. It is suitable for those who are at the start of their career as an HR professional or who aspire to enter the HR profession. Throughout the Postgraduate Certificate you will be encouraged to explore the challenges facing a rapidly changing profession in a global economy. The variety of HR practice in different geographical and sectoral contexts will be an important theme and you will develop relevant skills. There will be a strong emphasis on practice-based learning so that you will be asked to theory and consider its relevance to practice.

This qualification is offered online (although we do also offer some face to face tuition) and so offers you the flexibility to study in your own time and to fit your study around your family and work commitments. You will take part in online discussions and tutorials and will work collaboratively with students from a wide range of organisational backgrounds and countries. You will need to be able to draw on experience of working in or with organisations but this experience can be drawn from a wide range of situations such as employment in public and private sector organisations and in self-employed or voluntary roles.

Studying the Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management will:

• enable participants to understand the role of the HR professional, the nature of professionalism and approaches to addressing ethical dilemmas.
•  provide participants with the skills and understanding needed to address business and change management issues and to work at a strategic level in the organisation
• provide participants with the skills to assess the relevance of theory for practice and apply it where appropriate to improve practice.
• develop people management skills essential for HR work such as interviewing, coaching, managing conflict and managing performance.

The qualification consists of two compulsory 30-credit modules, each studied over six months. You must commence study of this qualification with The human resource professional (B863) before taking the second module in the qualification Human resource management in context (B864). The Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource Management can be achieved in one year based on approximately 12-14 hours of study a week for each 30-credit module you study.

Career relevance and employability

This qualification is intended to provide a route to professional membership of the CIPD if you wish to develop a career in HR management. It will also provide training in research and academic skills if you want to develop an academic career in the field of HR management.

More generally, by studying a postgraduate business qualification you can expect your salary to increase and for it to have a positive impact on your career progression, as well as bringing improvements to their organisation.

All entrants to this postgraduate certificate must hold a bachelors degree awarded by a recognised UK university, or equivalent.

If you hold a qualification that you believe is an equivalent level to a UK honours degree you should contact us. The Open University Business School Masters Programme Committee is responsible for judging whether applicants’ qualifications meet the requirements for admission.