29th July 2021
All Change: The People Profession
Simon Truscott, Lecturer, Business, Law and Professional at South Devon College
Here at South Devon College, we’ve seen a huge increase in enquiries from adults considering a change in career path over the past few months, and a 70% increase in applications for part time courses from those over 19 compared to last year. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be considering the benefits of working in a range of professional services, starting with the People Profession.
Be a force for positive change
The past 18 months have brought to light more than ever the importance of skilled people professionals, who have worked behind the scenes to keep things moving through some of the most challenging personal and professional circumstances possible.
The CIPD is the professional body for HR and people development and offer a range of accredited qualifications. According to the CIPD, “People professionals are uniquely placed to drive change, manage complexity and navigate uncertainty in a fast-changing world”. This skillset will be essential to the recovery of many businesses as we look towards a post pandemic world.
Here are the CIPD’s reasons to become a people professional:
Support people
The people function plays a vital role in both organisation performance and people’s careers by making sure the right people are in the right jobs. But attracting people to the organisation is just the beginning. How do you encourage your people to stay with you and perform to the best of their abilities, day in, day out? Are you supporting them with the skills, training and development they need to build long‐term careers? How do you empower them to work together to drive organisation success? What about protecting their rights to make sure they’re fairly rewarded and treated at work?
These questions underline the critical role people experts play in the world of work.
Work anywhere
The people profession opens doors to jobs in every sector, allowing you to build your career internationally or at home in an industry you’re passionate about. From media and engineering to banks and charities, every industry and company needs to hire the expertise of a people professional – no matter where in the world you are.
Progress your career
A career in the people profession offers long‐term options and a huge variety of roles. You could be involved in recruiting or coaching employees one day, or helping your company decide how employees should be rewarded the next. There are even roles which focus on employment law, protecting the rights of employees at work.
Though opportunities in the profession vary the profession is, broadly speaking, split into three distinct areas: Human Resources, Organisational Design and Development and Learning and Development.
Great earning potential
Not only are there lots of roles to apply for, but you’ll also have the chance to earn a competitive salary over time. If you’re just starting out in the profession from school or college, you could earn around £15,000–£18,000 a year. As you gain qualifications and experience, your salary might go up significantly; if you progress to the top, you could be earning over £100,000 as a People Director.
Salary isn’t always the primary motivation though. CIPD Member research has shown us that most people professionals derive a strong sense of purpose from their work and believe the profession offers a meaningful career.
Source: https://www.cipd.co.uk/careers/why-work
To find out how to get started in the People Profession with a range of full and part time courses from entry to degree level, contact [email protected]