The CIPD has also announced the three suppliers selected as assessment partners to deliver this new route. They were chosen at the end of a tender process, on the basis of the quality of the service and support they can deliver to HR professionals, including feedback, which can be used as a blueprint for future career development.
They are Hudson Talent Management, Reed Business School and CIPD Enterprises.
The experience assessment route will enable experienced HR professionals to access one of the three professional levels of CIPD membership, using assessment of their current and previous work experience as evidence that they have the knowledge and expertise required to meet the CIPD’s rigorous membership criteria. It is designed to reflect the ever more diverse career paths that increasingly see many people entering HR from other disciplines, choosing to specialise in one particular area of the profession, or pursuing less linear HR careers.
It is hoped the new route will enable the CIPD to better cater for people who, by virtue of these more diverse career paths or for other reasons, have risen within the HR profession without starting out with a CIPD qualification, and have not to date had their contribution fully recognised.
The new route caters both for HR generalists and for HR specialists, enabling them to demonstrate appropriate levels of experience and knowledge for membership admission.
The experience assessment route is built on the CIPD’s new membership criteria and therefore draws extensively on the contents of its HR Profession Map.
Sue Upton, director of membership at the CIPD, said: "The new assessment methods are specifically designed to elicit relevant and appropriate evidence against each set of criteria. By adding a clear focus on experience and behaviours – underpinned by an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding – the new route does more than just maintain existing rigour and standards, it marks a significant raising of the bar.
"The assessment partners we’ve chosen for the new route have been selected in particular for their ability to deliver a high-quality assessment experience, including feedback that HR professionals will be able to use as a blueprint for the future development of their careers."
