A new level 3 qualification, the equivalent of an HR assistant role, will be available later this year. From 2015, level 5 & 7 qualifications will also be available for HR Managers and HR Directors respectively.
The IOR was founded in 2010 and was incorporated to the UK in February 2011, with a remit to provide professional services to the HR and recruitment industry.
The CIPD has been the sole provider of HR qualifications in the UK since it was established in 1913.
IOR director general Azmat Mohammed, pictured, told HR magazine he accepts going up against 100 years of the CIPD qualification will be "a challenge." However, he believes the appetite for an alternative is there.
"There is no reason why there can't be more than one professional body in the HR space," he said. "If you look at an area like accounting, they have up to six chartered bodies. HR is a big enough area that more than one can exist."
Mohammed denied this is an attempt to muscle in on the CIPD's existing clientele and hopes that the two bodies can "exist in harmony".
"I think the competition will improve the marketplace," he said. "When one professional body stands alone for so long there is a danger of stagnation. I see no reason why we can't work together with the CIPD to our mutual advantage."
