Associate Members are HR professionals who have studied the Certificate in Personnel Practice, a good grounding for those interested in following the Professional Qualification Scheme of the CIPD.

Licentiate members are HR professionals who are studying the CIPD qualification and are part qualified in core management and core personnel and development.

Graduate members of the CIPD have completed the 3 stages of the Professional Qualification Scheme and a management report in a chosen area.

Full member grades:

Members (MCIPD) are fully CIPD qualified, have 3 years HR management experience and are involved in Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Fellows (FCIPD) are fully CIPD qualified, have 10 years HR management experience and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Companions (CCIPD) are fully CIPD qualified and are invited to become Companions of the institute.

The CIPD offers a number of levels of qualification, which are relevant to the different levels at which someone may be operating within the HR business world, as detailed further below. Increasingly, these are sought by the employers of HR professionals. It is felt they indicate a commitment to the profession and to the best practice standards they encourage within their curriculum.

Certificate in Personnel Practice (CPP) Certificate in Recruitment and Selection Certificate in Training Practice (CTP)

These are geared toward support and officer/adviser level staff within the HR profession. They involve a minimum of 120 hours study, plus an emphasis on practical project work. Candidates are encouraged to put together a portfolio of assessed programme work including work-based evidence. Upon successful completion candidates will be eligible for Associate grade membership of the CIPD.

This is the main professional qualification of the CIPD and pursuit of this will lead to being either a Licentiate CIPD member (i.e. Part Qualified) or a Graduate CIPD member (i.e. Fully Qualified).

The PQS is made up of three vital fields of study:-

• Core Management c33% weighting
  
• Core Personnel and Development c22% weighting
  
• 4 elective specialist subjects c45% weighting

Successful completion of one of the above will lead to Licentiate membership whilst successful completion of all three will offer Graduate member status.

In total these programmes amount to around 540 hours of teaching input. For more detailed information on the programme content and for all other CIPD qualifications and to find out about the different levels and entry points to CIPD visit cipd.co.uk or Courses and Careers UK on 0208 263 3313.

It is possible to upgrade the status of your membership from Graduate CIPD status, depending upon your years and level of work experience. Those with Grad CIPD and a minimum of 3 years relevant experience at Management level can upgrade to Full Member (MIPD) status. Those with a minimum of 10 years relevant experience, who can show career progression to a position that currently involves strategic responsibilities, can upgrade to Fellow (FIPD) status.

It is also possible to gain Associate, Licentiate and Graduate member status through the competence-based workplace assessment of the NVQ/SVQ (National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications if exams aren't your thing and more detail of that is also available contact the enquiries desk on 020 8612 6208, email them at cipd@cipd.co.uk or visit their website www.cipd.co.uk.

For those who wish to gain and demonstrate a heightened level of strategic awareness and competence within either HR or business as a whole then it is common practice to pursue post-graduate degrees such as Masters in Human Resources Management or MBA's. These can be done through many Universities and Management college's, either full time, part time or even through distance learning. Care should be taken in the selection of institution, as this can have much bearing on how the qualification will be perceived. An MBA from a top ranked MBA college such as Cranfield can be a much sought after thing by employers.

However, despite the obvious value of qualifications, they are not everything and no amount of qualifications will replace relevant experience. Whilst qualifications can improve an individuals knowledge and therefore potentially job performance, they cannot replace experience or even more importantly vital personality traits. It is these which are still the prime determining factors in recruiting decisions. But qualifications do make a difference and many benefits do accrue from their pursuit, but it should be understood they do not stand up just on their own in making the finished article.

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