Personnel & Recruitment

Personnel and HR

Training and Development

Personnel and HR
Recruitment Consultancy

A career in personnel or human resources involves ensuring that an organisation has the right people in the right jobs with the right skills and qualifications. Roles can be specialist in areas, such as recruitment or employment law, or can be much more generalist, where you may do a bit of everything.  The main areas of work include employee relations, employment law, health and safety, recruitment, pay and benefits, training, learning and development.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the recognised professional body for those engaged in personnel and human resources management and is a valuable source of information. Four of the CIPD branches: North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside cover the Yorkshire region and can be accessed via the CIPD website.

The job market for graduates in HR in Yorkshire is similar to the rest of the country in that employers often expect a professional qualification (CIPD) for management and senior posts. A role at assistant or administrative level is a good way of gaining valuable experience and your employer may then fund your CIPD while you are training. Many graduates who work in HR originally entered through general management trainee roles and then went on to undertake the CIPD. The CIPD website lists all the institutions that offer the qualification on both a full and part time basis.

Employees generally look for graduates who are confident communicators as you're likely to be working with different people from all walks of life, in all parts of the organisation, on a daily basis. You'll also need to be highly organised, have strong written skills for writing attractive and concise job descriptions and be well presented.

There can be a lot of competition in this area and although formal training or a related degree isn't essential it can be an advantage. Good experience on your CV in a customer facing role or managing a work or sports team can also make you more attractive to employers in this sector.

Useful links:

Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)

The CIPD is the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people.

People Management

The online magazine from the CIPD has useful articles and information relating to the sector and a jobs section where you can search by location, level, salary and specialist area.