Hi Gosia

A personal qualification might stay with someone for life but membership of the CIPD most certainly doesn't and whether Fellow Chartered Member or Associate denotes that someone has fully met CIPD's standards at whatever level. Someone who years ago went on a short HR course and got some kind of certificate primarily for paying the course fee might describe themselves a 'qualified HR professional' but personally I'd be smelling a rat and thinking it probably means 'can't  qualify for CIPD membership'

Of course it's not just the designation / letters after your name that people derive from membership - you derive the benefit of interacting with everyone on Communities for just one of many possible examples but one that many members regard as in itself worth the subscription - for example saving them or their employers hundreds if not thousands of pounds in paid-for advice and guidance.

In reply to David:

"...you derive the benefit of interacting with everyone on Communities for just one of many possible examples but one that many members regard as in itself worth the subscription - for example saving them or their employers hundreds if not thousands of pounds in paid-for advice and guidance."

Couldn't agree more, David... but then I would say that, wouldn't I? I do have a treasure-trove of awesome quotes, too... of people saying exactly that.

I tend to agree with David - HR qualified means very little to me. I also haven't really seen a noticeable increase in its use on CVs or LinkedIn. I still see most candidates claiming CIPD membership to be honest (no idea if they have it or not)

In reply to Keith:

Some years ago I was tasked with checking a manager's claimed credentials, one of which was MCIPD. So I enquired of CIPD Towers, only to be met by a curt refusal to disclose whether or not a named person was a member, citing 'data protection'

How then do eg Oxbridge colleges maintain public records of the names of graduates? Or the Government of holders of honours and awards?

But it clearly wasn't worth arguing with this member of CIPD staff - but IMHO they do themselves or their members no favours at all taking this kind of stance - even if there are data protection issues, surely they need only to make it a condition of membership?

In reply to David:

I think that's a great idea David, it makes sense to be able to check this data.

To be honest, I only keep my membership up because I regularly see roles that require membership in their essential criteria.

In reply to David:

Hello David
Thank you for a very interesting point.

In reply to Gosia:

Hello again, Gosia... another valuable example of support right here, as it happens.

In reply to David:

If a customer calls CIPD HQ asking to check if someone is in membership we can only confirm if that person is a current CIPD member (or not) and their current grade.  

When we do so, we must be careful that we take enough information to ensure that we have been able to identify the correct person in the database without any doubt before confirming status and grade.

We aren’t able to advise of anything else - e.g. which qualifications anyone has (unless we have had written consent from the member/student), dates of joining CIPD, when someone upgraded or if they are a lapsed member.

Hope this helps, David :)

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Thank you, Steve!

- that makes sense but it's a pity that the CIPD call-handler never explained anything like that, but just flatly refused to divulge anything whatsoever.

My query then was that Mr (full name etc etc) tells us he is a current MCIPD = are you able to confirm that he indeed is, please? - sadly, they in effect told me to push off.......

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Also worth mentioning, I think, that part of the value of membership is demonstrating to existing and potential employers not simply that you’ve got a qualification (or you’ve been assessed by EA to reach our standards)... but that you're showing a commitment to stay up-to-date by remaining in membership.

You may already be aware we offer a whole range of member benefits that you can dip in to when you need help. These can all be accessed on the 'My Membership' page.

In reply to David:

OK, David... that doesn't sound great, but you said yourself it was "some years ago". What I've said here is certainly the case today.

In reply to Steve Bridger:

Thanks for clarifying that, Steve.