Hi Lucy

Welcome to the communities and good luck with your University applications. A HR career can be incredibly rewarding.

Broadly speaking (and forgive me if you know this) there are two separate parallel tracks here that get intermingled. One is the UK national qualifications framework. (www.gov.uk/.../list-of-qualification-levels)

This starts at Level 1 (Some GCSEs for example), Level 2 (higher GCSEs), Level 3 (A Levels), Level 4 (HNCs), Level 5 (HND), Level 6 (Honours Degree) ,Level 7 (Masters), Level 8 (PhD).

By doing an Honours degree in HRM you will have a level 6 qualification in HRM.

The CIPD has a separate and distinct membership path (www.cipd.co.uk/.../grades)
Student (studying), Foundation (tactical support) Associate (Operation/more complex), Chartered Member (Operational strategic) Chartered Fellow (Strategic commercial). The CIPD path is more interested in applied knowledge, experience and what you can do rather than what you have learnt. 

The two often run in parallel but aren't joined at the hip. So you could be an Associate but have a Masters Degree. Or a Fellow with GCSEs.

A degree wont magically open up career paths to you and the key challenge you will face will be getting experience. So look out for opportunities to volunteer etc. Also if any of the Degrees offer a years placement that would probably be invaluable.

In reply to Keith:

Thank you so much for your reply… it was very helpful in clearing up the difference between the two!
I am looking to find the degree course in the UK that offers the best links with employers and some industry experience.
I am also going to be looking to see if there are any apprenticeships nearer the time. The only ones I have seen advertised so far were for school leavers who just finished their GCSE’s, so I missed that as I am now in my second year of A’Level, but fingers crossed
Thank you for your help,
Lucy

Hi Lucy
Welcome to the community. I did a CIPD approved BA(Hons) in HRM and on completion I got associate membership. I had to join as a student member at the beginning of my studies but the CIPD offer a whole load of resources like factsheets, journal articles and podcasts which are really helpful and there is a dedicated student hub. Some of the core texts for modules are from the CIPD but as a student member you get a discount from the CIPD bookstore. You can pay your membership in installments to spread the cost if you like. You might have to choose certain modules to make sure you qualify for membership on graduation so it restricts your options to an extent but for me, that was the only downside.

I lot of the jobs I applied for after graduating did want or prefer CIPD membership so by doing a CIPD approved degree program I saved myself some time and money in getting my membership. If you want to be sure what level of membership you will get after graduation just give the CIPD a call to check.

The CIPD also has regional branches which hold events and attending these is a really good way to get an insight to the world of HR and it's a good place to network and even get an internship to build up your experience.

All value comes from people and, as Keith said, dealing with people can be one of the most rewarding, and challenging career choices you can make. A career in HR can lead you down lots of different paths. You can be a generalist or specialise in a field like recruitment, talent management or learning & development but whatever path you chose you'll never stop learning.

I'm sure you'll enjoy uni and good luck with your studies.

In reply to Jim:

Thank you very much for your reply Jim. Sorry, just noticed it now