Human Resources Development as a Career: Fostering Networks, Societies, Education

On a smaller scale, the advancement of national labor intermediation systems will also require a more skilled cadre of job counselors and human resource professionals. In countries such as the United States, masters’ degrees in human resources management are common and serve both for HR managers of large firms as well as those in private and public intermediation. For developing countries this means fostering a “market” of increasingly skilled professionals who can move between and among these growing numbers of intermediary firms, training institutions, and schools as well as the curriculums and training materials that fit local markets.

This area as well should be seen as a shared role with universities and training institutions, rather than offered solely via one service itself. Public and private employment agencies should be developing training modules which permit the skills advancement and certification of professionals “on the job”. University or graduate-level training in career guidance, while very rare in developing countries, might be fostered through collaboration between universities and public agencies. Included should be professional societies, associations of job counselors who themselves can become agents to support skill and career development. Important for this evolution is to see human resources as a career path within intermediation services and among public, private and associated institutions with human resources and intermediation functions. An example of this multi-level professionalization of job counselors can be seen in Ireland, as follows:

• • Level 1: Distance learning: one-year program, workshops of two days each with a certificate upon completion. Offered through public universities.
• • Level 2: Two-year distance learning and practical program using cases of client job seekers. Offered through public universities.
• • Level 3: Master’s level program with greater emphasis on professional career guidance. Offered by one private university, Galway.⁵⁹