HR Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education: Training, continuing education, further training, courses, schools in your region

The education portal Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch conducted a survey to find out why people are interested in further training as an HR specialist. These are the results:

• 74 % would still like to align further training with their own needs
• 11 % show interest through a recommendation
• 15 % are interested in this course because the qualification is required in job advertisements

Several people have defined the reason for their interest in the HR specialist training program in terms of their goals:

• "Personnel consultant"
• "to increase my knowledge"
• "Putting my many years of expertise in HR on paper."
• "Career change"
• "I would like to expand my expertise"
• "I would like to develop further in the area of personnel"
• "Further training desired"
• "Next training step following the HR assistant qualification"
• "the course complements my professional practice"
• "I have seen an interesting job advertisement for which this training is desirable"

Two people are very sure about their interest: "I know that I would like to complete the HR specialist course" and "I find this area very exciting.".

Three other people are already working in this area: "I already work in HR",
"I am already an HR assistant" and "I have completed the HR assistant course and would like to develop further"

Continuing education, further training as a Human Resources Specialist (HR Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education) is a part-time course that allows you to remain in employment, albeit often with a reduced workload. Please enquire about this directly with the relevant school using the contact form. Depending on the training institute and model, the course lasts two to three semesters.

The course in preparation for the Federal Professional Examination (FPE) for HR specialists with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education is a part-time continuing education, further training course that takes place over two to three semesters. The teaching times vary depending on the school.

There is no Federal Professional Examination (FPE) specifically for personnel developers, but there is one in the field of human resources. This is the continuing education, further training to become an HR specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education. The Federal Professional Examination can be completed in three different specializations: Operational HR management, public recruitment and consulting, private recruitment and hiring.

Since 2017, the Federal Professional Examination (FPE) for HR specialists with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education can be completed in three specializations. These are:

• Human Resource Management (HRM)
• Public recruitment and consulting
• Private recruitment and staff leasing

The HR specialist continuing education, further training as preparation for the federal certificate provides sound knowledge in the field of human resources management. In addition to overarching basic knowledge, in-depth skills are built up depending on the chosen specialization. The common basic topics of the HR specialist continuing education, further training include

• Fundamentals of human resources management
  Introduction to key terms, legal framework conditions and core HR processes such as personnel planning, recruitment, support and departure
• Designing communication and interaction
  Skills in conducting discussions, conflict resolution, negotiation techniques and internal and external communication - crucial for day-to-day dealings with employees, managers and partners
• Information and network maintenance
  Professional handling of HR-relevant information, development and maintenance of networks, targeted information transfer and use of digital tools for data management

Depending on the specialization of the HR specialist continuing education, further training will focus on the following content:

• Specialization A - Operational Human Resource Management (HRM):
  
  • Recruitment and separation of employees
  • Advice for employees and managers
  • Performance appraisal, personnel development and remuneration
  • Project management and management of HR infrastructure
• Specialization B - Public personnel placement and consulting:
  
  • Placement and support for jobseekers
  • Cooperation with public and private employers
  • Implementation of labor market measures
  • Execution of sovereign enforcement tasks
• Specialization C - Private recruitment and placement:
  
  • Placement of workers
  • Cooperation with clients from the private sector
  • Management of internal employees
  • Management and organization of business units

The HR specialist continuing education, further training enables practical specialization in a future-oriented professional field. It provides targeted preparation for responsible tasks in human resources management - both in the private and public sectors.

Important: The specific course content may vary slightly depending on the school. It is advisable to enquire about the details directly with the respective educational institution. Use our contact form to forward your question directly to the desired school.

For continuing education, further training in human resources as preparation for the Federal Professional Examination HR Specialist, formerly HR Specialist or HR Consultant, prospective students can choose one of a total of three specializations. These are

• Operational Human Resource Management
• Private recruitment and staff leasing
• Public recruitment and staff leasing

After graduating as an HR specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education, the following further training opportunities are typically available:

• Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (AFPE): Head of Human Resources, Head of Training with a federal diploma (HF!)
• College of Higher Education: Dipl. Betriebswirt/in CHE
• University of Applied Sciences: Bachelor of Science (UAS) in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science (UAS) in Applied Psychology with various specializations
• Postgraduate level: courses offered by Colleges of Higher Education and Universities of Applied Sciences in related fields, e.g. graduate Human Resources Manager postgraduate studies CHE

Before starting the continuing education, further training to become an HR specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education, prospective participants decide on a specialization. They can choose from the following:

• Operational Human Resource Management
• Public recruitment and consulting
• Private recruitment and staff leasing

Depending on the Federal Professional Examination for which continuing education, further training in human resources prepares you, different areas are tested. For example, the FPE to become a specialist in business organization with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education consists of the following parts of the exam: Organization, Project Management, ICT, Meeting and Presentation, Individual and Group, Business Administration and Law as well as a cross-topic case study. In contrast, the examination parts of the continuing education, HR specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education are: Generalist knowledge of human resources, technically sound case processing, professional conduct in everyday working life. The schools will inform you about the exact structure and content of the individual parts of the examination.

According to graduates, you can achieve the following with HR specialist training:

• depending on the chosen specialization of the HR specialist training:
  • Professional skills in operational human resource management
  • Specialist skills in public recruitment and consulting
  • Specialist expertise in private recruitment and staff leasing
• Gain good specialist knowledge for a job in the HR department of an SME, on the RAV or in a recruitment agency
• perform responsible tasks in the human resources sector, in job placement or in recruitment services
• with training as an HR specialist, employment as an HR employee, team leader or department head is possible
• Good preparation for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education examination in HR
• Opportunity for further development as HR Manager

In addition to the compulsory parts that you must complete, you have the opportunity to specialize in the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Human Resources. These compulsory elective parts are HR management with international HR management and HR consulting with personnel consulting.

74% of all people who are interested in further training as a human resources administrator do so in order to match this training opportunity with their own needs. They want to find out whether the training meets their own needs. This is shown by the survey conducted by the education portal Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch among the relevant people. In turn, 13% confirmed that they had been mentioned in job advertisements for HR assistant jobs as the reason for their inquiry. Another 13 % developed their interest through a recommendation. The free text responses also revealed other reasons:

• Knowledge building: "I already work in HR and would like to acquire more knowledge", "I would like to complete this course to deepen my knowledge, as I already worked in HR", "I would like to expand my knowledge in HR assistance and use this to benefit my current job", "To increase my knowledge in HR assistance", "To expand my knowledge", "Current HR consultant, expand specialist knowledge"
• Proof of qualification: "to be able to continue my professional training", "I want to continue my training in the direction of HR assistant", "retake failed exam", "because I already work as an HR assistant and have no training", "personal further training, personal perspective HR specialist", "possibly decisive for my future", "already work in HR", "is required in my job", "I already work in this function, but I still need further training", "I am aiming for the HR Fachfrau FA", "HRSE certificate exam is a must for admission to the eidg. FA HR"
• Interest: "Interest in human resources", "I need information about Swiss labor law and payroll accounting in Switzerland", "Learning something new that interests me"
• Job change: "I would like to work in HR", "I would like to develop myself further", "I would like to work in a new profession", "I work in HR but don't have a degree in it. I am looking to change jobs in HR.", "Because I want to change to this area."

Not all continuing education, further training courses in the field of human resources are necessarily federally recognized qualifications. Certificate courses, for example, often only award internal school diplomas or association qualifications. However, the continuing education, further training courses HR Specialist FPE, Head of Human Resources AFPE and postgraduate studies CHE Human Resources Manager are federally recognized courses.

Many schools offer preparatory courses to prepare for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Human Resources. However, not every school will offer all three specializations (new examination regulations 2017) for the HR specialist continuing education, further training, so you should definitely ask which specialization you will be prepared for within the course before making a definitive registration. The best way to do this is to contact the relevant schools directly using our contact form and you will receive all the information you need quickly and easily by email.