Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources

Information About Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources

By taking a postgraduate course in human resources, you will be positioning yourself to enter a business role that is either directly related to the hiring of employees or managing a workforce within an enterprise. Although many of the skills can also be applied to other commercial roles.

Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources Trends

Human resources comes under the category of business & administration studies. In 2015-2016 in Ireland, 700 students too postgrad in courses related to business & administration studies. This meant that business & administration studies, including human resources, was the most popular subject for postgraduate study in Ireland in 2015-2016.

Studying Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources for Professional Reasons

By taking a postgrad course in human resources, you have made a solid choice for starting a career in commerce and industry. This is a slightly narrower focus than other business subjects, a little more specialised. Many people who study human resources at postgraduate level already plan a career in a related job role.

Research Subjects for Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources

When you start your postgrad course in human resources, you will need to select a research topic to base your these upon eventually. The research topics open to you will differ across universities. Typical research topic includes:

• Diversity issues – study into how a diverse workforce can be managed
• Employment law - research into the legislation that governs employment, and how it can be improved or altered to fit the modern commercial landscape better.
• International HRM – study into resolving the issues faced by multinational corporations in managing a workforce across borders.
• Labour relations – research into how a company can interact better with its own employees.
• Performance management – the study of the methods used to increase proficiency and efficiency in a workforce.

Specializations for Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources

When you decide to study human resources at postgrad level, you will need to select a specialisation to focus on. The available specialisations will be different across universities. However, typically available specialisations could include:

• The legal and ethical environment of business – in direct relations to the employment of staff.
• Managing global talent – how multinational organisations can tap a global pool of employees more efficiently.
• Staffing – the study of the general practices of staffing, including staff provisioning, remuneration, employment law etc.
• Training – with regards to employee development and building a skilled workforce.
• Performance management – the monitoring and management of employee performance.
• HR analytics – using historical data to better shape a workforce to be more efficient.
• Leadership development – specialising in finding and nurturing leadership talent within the enterprise.

Job Roles Which Completing Postgraduate Courses in Human Resources Will Open Up

Depending upon the specialisation of your postgraduate qualification in human resources, and whether you intend further study or a period of work to gain better experience, then a wide range of job roles could become available to you, such as:

• Placement manager
• Human resources director
• Compensation and benefits manager
• International resources manager
• Labour relations manager
• Workforce planning and development specialist
• Training and development manager

In Conclusion

Studying for and receiving a postgraduate qualification in human resources is a good basis for entering into a wide range of careers that deal with the hiring, management, protection and nurturing of a workforce. Either internally within a company, or externally as part of a specialised recruitment firm, or outsource HR
company.