CCHRA upgrades qualifications for CHRP designation

Broader qualifications reflect increasing responsibilities of HR professionals

The Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) is upgrading and unifying the qualifications HR professionals will have to meet to earn the CHRP designation.

The changes — encompassed in the new 2014 CHRP Competency Framework created by CCHRA — come in response to the growing contribution HR professionals are making to their organizations, and reflect the increasing need for HR to have competencies in broader areas.

Employers will increasingly expect HR professionals to be proficient in areas such as strategizing and financial management, which the competency framework has been upgraded to reflect.

The 2014 CHRP Competency Framework is the result of an extensive Professional Practice Analysis conducted by CCHRA last year, and is based on a dual-competency model (reflecting both technical and general skills, abilities and knowledge).

The framework establishes nine functional areas of knowledge in the HR field, including two new areas of expertise:

• Strategy (new)

• Professional Practice

• Engagement

• Workforce Planning and Talent Management

• Employee and Labour Relations

• Total Rewards

• Learning and Development

• Health, Wellness, and Safe Workplace

• Human Resources Metrics, Reporting and Financial Management (new)

The revised competencies are in effect immediately, but will be assessed for the first time in the June 2015 National Knowledge Exam (NKE). To write the existing NKE, individuals must register by Sept. 2, 2014 to write the November 2014 NKE.

The new framework also outlines five enabling competencies that complete the CHRP professional’s skill set:

• Strategic and Systems Thinking

• Professional and Ethical Practice

• Critical Problem-solving and Decision-making

• Change Management and Cultural Transformation

• Communication, Conflict resolution, and Relationship Management

These competencies are not evaluated in the exam, but rather are demonstrated in an assessment of experience. The framework sets out how the competencies are to be assessed.

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