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Opinion: CIPD Qualification is in massive need of modernisation

Charles

Hey all,

I am a level 7 CIPD student, with two units left before I complete my course in July. I am currently employed as a HR Director in a small business (65~ employees), prior to this I worked at very large companies as a "People Professional" in some form, albeit more of an Operations position than an HR position.

Throughout the past 2-3 years of part-time studying, I have had this growing stance on the entire qualification:

The CIPD qualification produces great HR essay writers, not great HR professionals.

Why is there absolutely zero practical work for any of the qualification? It would be so much more enriching and effective it included:

  • Roleplays for very challenging disciplinaries
  • Mini assignment to plan, manage and roleplay redundancies within an organistion end-to-end
  • Tests to create a new organisational chart for a mock company
  • Having to write mock letters responding to a tribunal claim process, to develop technical writing.
  • Create a new reward structure for a mock company
  • Develop and present a company first People Strategy/Plan

There's so much opportunity to real and practical development. Instead every unit feels the same:

  1. Be assigned unit
  2. Buy prescribed book(s)
  3. Read prescried book(s)
  4. Write a 4000 word essay

I met someone on my course who has received a merit for an essay on the topic of redundancy, but has never actual conducted a redundancy meeting of any kind in their career. This is a bit like me saying I can drive because I passed the theory test but failed the practical.

Does anyone else feel this way? Considering how much stuff I see from the CIPD promoting the use of new technology, staying modern and ahead of the curve etc. the actual qualification seems remarkably old school.

Parents
  • Oh wow I agree so much and I wish I could do the course you describe! I completed my L5 in February, I'm in quite a strategic senior position and hoped the course would equip me with both strategic AND practical skills in the areas I've not dealt with yet - no such luck! I've written a series of academic sounding essays and learned about proper referencing. My next career move feels like it needs to be a step down now, so that I can learn from a mentor, someone actually doing those bits of the role. Not what I was expecting.
  • in reply to Rosie
    A number of years ago now to be fair but I found my course (L7) was very concentrated on what "high performing organisations" may be doing. The fact that few of us worked in such an environment seemed irrelevant. I too had little teaching around redundancy, and zero on TUPE, with a result that I was scared of TUPE for quite a while until I got involved in one and realised that a, it wasn't scary, and b, some of it could have been covered in the course.

    In fairness the course was mixed and I found some of it engaging and interesting but any development and learning I've had have been on the job. This is why I strongly advocate on here against the collection of qualifications in place of practical experience.
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  • in reply to Rosie
    A number of years ago now to be fair but I found my course (L7) was very concentrated on what "high performing organisations" may be doing. The fact that few of us worked in such an environment seemed irrelevant. I too had little teaching around redundancy, and zero on TUPE, with a result that I was scared of TUPE for quite a while until I got involved in one and realised that a, it wasn't scary, and b, some of it could have been covered in the course.

    In fairness the course was mixed and I found some of it engaging and interesting but any development and learning I've had have been on the job. This is why I strongly advocate on here against the collection of qualifications in place of practical experience.
Children