The Institute of Human Resources Management Practitioners Ghana, (IHRMP) has held its 8th Graduation ceremony at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, Ridge, Accra on Thursday, 1st December 2016.

The Executive Director of IHRMP, Mr. Ebenezer Agbetor said the ceremony was to officially present certificates to well deserving graduands who has completed either the level 3 or level 4 of the Professional Certification Programme of the Institute.

The numbers of students that graduated are 98 Associate Members and 12 Certified Members as against last year figures of 63 Associate and 2 Certified members, representing a remarkable increase of about 70%, Mr. Agbetor revealed.

The President of the Institute, Mr. John Wilson, in his address, entreated the graduands to be good ambassadors of the profession they have chosen and urged them to secure copies of the code of ethics and study to guide them as they operate as full-fledged HR Professionals.

Mr. Wilson shared his predictions of top 5 HR Strategy which needed to be watched in the years ahead. He mentioned, among other things: 1. Employee Engagement and Culture; 2. Transforming or re-inventing HR; 3. Outsourced /Contract Labour; 4. Data Analytics & IT; 5. Employment creation/Labour Productivity.

In a speech delivered on behalf of the President of Groupe Ideal, Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani, who was the Guest Speaker for the ceremony, under the theme: “The HR Professional – The Indispensable Business Partner” the Vice President of Groupe Ideal, Mr. Charles Ankuh said, “every business owner or entrepreneur striving to achieve excellence, indeed, need partners that are indispensable and HR is certainly one of them”.

“Therefore, Human Resources Managers do not only act as a liaison between employees and management but actually function strategically with all business units to help achieve the corporate objective. As the future HR practitioners and current HR professionals, it behoves on you to appreciate the changes in the global HR environment and respond to these changes accordingly”, Mr. Ankuh admonished the new graduands.

On his part, the Chairman of the Professional Certification Board, Mr. John Eluerkeh explained that members of the Professional Certification Board (PCB) manage the certification programs by assuring those standards are developed and maintained, quality assurance is in place and that the exams accurately reflect the competencies of professionals in the areas of HR practice.

The ceremony was attended by Council members, members of IHRMP, families of graduands, media and the general public.