The job growth rate for HR is increasing, but it still pays to stand out.
Over the past decade, the ways we work – and the environments we work in – have undergone dramatic transformations.
Thanks to globalisation, digitalisation, economic swings and social shifts, the 21st century world of work now demands employers and employees who are flexible and adaptable fast-learners.
Not surprisingly, this also means there’s an increasing demand for skilled HR professionals who can play a leading role in changing organisational environments.
Australian HR Institute certified academic Dr Justine Ferrer CAHR, who is director of teaching and a senior lecturer in Human Resource Management within the Deakin Business School*, says that HR practitioners are now required to be more strategic and more agile to accommodate the rapid change within organisations and their operating environments.
“In being more strategic, HR practitioners need to better understand the business and be explicitly able to demonstrate their value to the organisation and subsequently directly impact on organisational success, ” she says.
Employment projections by the Australian Government’s Department of Jobs and Small Business reveal that for the 2018-2023 period, there’s an expected 12.8 per cent job growth rate for HR managers and a 10.8 per cent employment boost for HR professionals.
Given the turbulent environments in which organisations operate, change is now the common dimension for HR, says Dr Ferrer. And the ability of HR practitioners to manage this – while developing the organisation and its people – is critical for success.
“Gone are the days of a run of the mill training program – there is now demand for more sophisticated ways to manage talent within organisations.”
The added surge in emerging technologies and artificial intelligence means there’s also high demand for HR practitioners with analytic and big data skills.
“If HR practitioners want to be a strategic player in the organisation then they need to be able to interpret data, forecast change, and make decisions for future trends.”
Today, HR management is no longer regarded as the sole responsibility of a specialised department. Instead an understanding of HR’s role is crucial for anyone, in any organisation, who holds management responsibilities.
Deakin University’s Master of Human Resource Management is a specialised postgraduate program that’s tailored for current HR practitioners who want to extend and expand their skills and knowledge with a formal qualification, while also meeting the needs of senior managers with HR responsibilities.
“There is a focus on strategic preparedness for graduates, with a focus on organisational development and change, underpinned by a solid employment relations base, with the inclusion of HR analytics as a driving skill in HR for the future,” says Dr Ferrer.
She explains that the course prepares graduates with expansive knowledge skills and abilities that transcend the functional areas of HR, enabling them to become strategic players within an organisation.
“Our graduates are agile and adaptable and equipped with the necessary capabilities to embrace change at all levels in the organisation and provide a pathway to take their next career step.”
Accredited by the Australian HR Institute (AHRI), the degree is available wholly online and offers students the flexibility to study wherever and whenever it suits their personal and professional commitments.
Embedded with work-integrated learning and strong industry links, its specialist units cover organisational development and change, employment relations, and business and human resource strategy and analysis – while electives are offered from the key business disciplines.
An added feature of the degree is that HR professionals who’ve completed the AHRI Practising Certification Program also receive four credit points towards qualification, fast-tracking the path to graduation.
Dr Ferrer says Deakin’s Master of Human Resource Management provides a pathway for students to make their next executive or management HR career move.
“This is an accredited, high-calibre qualification that draws on research from the academic staff members teaching into the program and provides a mix of theoretical and practitioner perspectives to ensure that the rhetoric fits the reality.”
Interested in studying Human Resource Management? Find out more.
*Deakin Business School (DBS) is accredited by AACSB International, the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools in the world. Only five percent of business programs worldwide are AACSB accredited and DBS is one of only three in Victoria, Australia.