The newly elected President of the Institute of Human Resources Management Practitioners, Ghana (IHRMP), Dr Edward Kwapong, has said that to be relevant to Industry, HR practitioners must welcome professional certification and say goodbye to raw academic qualifications.

Dr Kwapong said this when he delivered his speech at the 9th Graduation ceremony of the IHRMP held in Accra on Friday, December 8, 2017, at the premises of the Ghana Academy of Arts & Sciences.

“Academic giants are exchanging the academic crowns for professional laurels and that is the reality of the situation. Goodbye raw academic qualification, welcome professional certification. The days of academic fleece are over, the time has come for professional fleece”, the President of IHRMP added.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director of IHRMP, Mr Ebenezer Agbetor said, “This event marks a high point in the calendar of activities of the Institute because it shows that we are growing as an institute since the inception of the Professional Certification Program (PCP) in 2002. The numbers graduating today are 136 Associate and nine Certified members as against last year figures of 98 and 12 respectively, a remarkable increase of 32% in the number of students graduating”.

Mr Agbetor charged the newly graduated HR practitioners to be good ambassadors of the profession that they have chosen and stand tall with the competencies to distinguish themselves from the “cowboys and girls” in the HR industry.

The guest speaker for the program, Mrs. Irene Asare, Director of HR, Facilities & Administration of Tullow Ghana Limited, who doubles as the reigning HR Practitioner of the year, said “there is fear that applying artificial intelligence and robotics will gradually spell the death of jobs, but HR practitioners need to come to terms with the fact that artificial intelligence, robotics and human being combine to deliver levels of productivity and outcomes in an organization.

Speaking on the theme: “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics – The continued Relevance of HR Management, Mrs Irene Asare explained that, “It is not the future of the workplace, it is here with us and happening today in our workplaces. A radical change is already evident in the customer service sector. Chatbots (a software developed to enhance communication), is now the most popular to provide round-the-clock service for customers. Unlike a conventional call centre, a Chabot never sleeps, it never needs to go on a lunch break and it never gets impatient with its customers. I have to say we really need to improve our customer service culture in Ghana”.

The program was attended by Vice President of the Institute, Mr Leo Quarcoopome, National Governing Council members, Chairman and members of the Professional Certification Board, Resources persons, student members, families of graduants and the media.