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, Higher Education in Human Resources (HR Specialist with Federal Diploma of Higher Education) is a part-time course that allows you to continue working, albeit often at a slightly reduced pace. Please enquire about this directly with the relevant school using the contact form. Depending on the chosen educational institute and model, the duration of the course varies between two and three years.

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

During the continuing education, Higher Education and Federal Diploma of Higher Education in HR, participants acquire basic cross-disciplinary knowledge, such as basic knowledge, interaction design and information and network maintenance. This is supplemented by skills in the respective specialist field.

These are for specialization A (operational HRM):

• Extraction and separation
• Advice for employees and line managers
• Assessment, development, remuneration
• Project management, infrastructure management

For specialization B (public personnel placement and consulting) of the HR specialist training:

• Placement of job seekers
• Cooperation with employers
• Labor market measures
• Sovereign enforcement tasks

And for specialization C (private recruitment and placement):

• Placement of job seekers
• Cooperation with employer
• Acting as a manager (supervision of employees)
• Acting as a manager (managing a business unit)

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.

After your HR specialist training, you have the following further training options:

• Courses and other offerings from technical and vocational schools and professional associations, for example in personnel management, career planning or communication techniques
• Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (AFPE), for example Head of Human Resources or Head of Training with a federal diploma (HF!)
• College of Higher Education for courses in related fields, e.g. business administration diploma
• University of Applied Sciences for degree programs in related fields, for example Bachelor of Science in Business Administration or in Applied Psychology. Different admission requirements apply depending on the University of Applied Sciences
• Postgraduate level for courses offered by Universities of Applied Sciences and universities in various fields, e.g. MAS in Human Capital Management or Human Resources Leadership HWZ

HR specialists manage the entire recruitment process. They create requirement profiles, conduct interviews and conclude employment contracts. They are the point of contact for employees and apprentices for questions relating to training and further education. An HR specialist supports and relieves the HR management and implements the company and HR policy operationally. They are characterized by detailed knowledge of topics such as social insurance, employment contract law, salary and apprenticeship systems.