The Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management, Ghana (CIHRM) and Central University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen collaboration between industry and academia in developing “industry-ready” human resource professionals.

During the signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of CIHRM, Dr. Francis Eduku, said that as the only legally mandated HR Professional Body established by law to regulate the practice of human resource management and maintain HR standards in Ghana, CIHRM was proud to associate with Central University to promote excellence in training the nation’s most critical resource: its people.

He added that the collaboration would serve as a strategic bridge between academia and industry, saying, “While academia teaches students the theories of human resource management, CIHRM teaches them the practice of those theories in organizational settings.”

Dr. Eduku explained that excellence in training HR professionals could not be achieved through a silo-mentality and called on all stakeholders in the country to support the only legally recognised HR Professional Body to guide the development and implementation of human resource management practices and standards in Ghana.

The Vice President of CIHRM, Mrs. Dorothy Asare, also said in her address that the collaboration was a model of partnership that the Institute would like to champion with academia to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

She explained that the partnership would result in the holistic development of HR Professionals whilst pushing the frontiers of Ghana's Human Resource Management profession. She also announced that the Institute would give scholarships to the top female and male graduating students in HRM from the Central University Business School every year starting this year.

The President of CIHRM, Florence Hutchful, praised Central University for being the first private University to sign the MOU with the Institute and thanked the Vice Chancellor and his team for their commitment towards excellence in the people management profession.

The Chairman for the ceremony, Professor Bill Puplampu, Vice Chancellor of Central University, in his keynote address, said, “Central University has long led the way in the Sciences with very explicit collaborative arrangements with Hospitals, Pharmacies and other such establishments where our students in the health professions gain in-situ experience. So, it is very much in order that we are extending this partnership arrangement to the Business School and its programmes.”

He added that Central University is currently inviting applications from prospective students for its undergraduate and graduate offerings for the February 2025 cohort and urged students to visit the University’s website: https://central.edu.gh/online to apply.

Present at the ceremony were Dora Siaw-Lartey (CIHRM Council Member); Anita Nanfuri (CIHRM Council Member); Dr. Irene Stella Agyenim-Boateng (Vice Chair-Public Services Commission); Professor Stephen Abenney-Mickson (Pro Vice-Chancellor); Lily Martina Yeboah Nutakor (Registrar), Professor Evans Sokro (Ag. Dean, Central Business School); Dr. Ophelia Zungbey (Head of Department, HRM) and other Directors and Heads of Departments of Central University as well as Staff of CIHRM.