Specialist Certifications Approved
David A. Dye, Ph.D.
IPMAAC Representative to IPMA Executive Council
In 1999, the IPMA Certified Professional (IPMA-CP) Certification Program was established to recognize public sector human resource professionals. The program provides recognition for professionals who have significant experience and can demonstrate competencies across a broad range of the HR field. Since its inception, it has been recognized that the IPMA-CP designation may be difficult to achieve for professionals who have more targeted areas of expertise. This is certainly the case for most IPMAAC members who specialize in employee selection and other assessment-related areas.
Given the need to reward and recognize professionals in more specialized fields, the IPMA Public Human Resource Certification Council Board of Directors has approved the establishment of specialist certifications. These certifications will be available in the human resource technical competency areas of: Employee/Labor Relations; Classification and Compensation; Employee Selection; Organizational and Employee Development; and Benefits Administration/Risk Management. To qualify for a specialist certification, an individual must:
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Have experience at the mastery level in the area of specialization for at least the previous five years (two of which must be in the public sector);
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Have demonstrated knowledge of the behavioral competencies included in theIPMA Human Resource Competency Model by passing the certification examination;
and
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Have completed a minimum of 30 hours of professional development training in the area of specialization within the past three years. For calculating hours of professional development training, one full day of training would be credited as 6 hours.
The Certification Council Board of Directors has developed performance anchors that describe the level of proficiency needed for the mastery level. The designation that would be awarded is International Personnel Management Association Certified Specialist (IPMA-CS). Recertification will be required every three years. The fee for specialist certification is $199 for IPMA members and $249 for nonmembers. For additional information or to obtain an application, please contact Sarah Shiffert at (703) 549-7100.
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