Human resources (HR) professionals develop and manage a range of activities for a company. This may include hiring and promoting employees; training and supporting workers; creating labour relations policies, programs and procedures; and laying off or firing people.
Watch the video below to see what a day in the life of a human resources specialist is like.
HR professionals work in the private and public sectors, may work for an HR consulting company, or may be self-employed.
Source: Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Source: 2021 Job Bank Wage Report
Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook
10 year expected job openings: 3,310
In general, human resources professionals:
In smaller companies, often one person handles all HR duties. In larger organizations, there is often a team of HR staff who work in specific HR areas.
Human resources professionals generally work a five-day workweek, with a minimum of 40 hours per week.
Better technology means that some HR professionals are able to work from a home office. Technology has also helped HR professionals to be more productive. Examples of this include having a video call instead of an in-person meeting or working together by sharing an online document, allowing each person to access the most recent version of it.
Workers may experience back and neck injuries and eye strain from using computers for long periods of time.
Source: 2016 Census
People in this career need a university degree or college diploma in a field related to personnel management (including business administration, industrial relations, commerce or psychology).
Some employers may expect a human resource professional to have:
For more information about programs offered specifically for this career, visit EducationPlannerBC.
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 35 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. You’ll also find the skill strength needed, letting you know how capable you must be in that skill.
Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
While there are currently enough people graduating from HR programs, most recent graduates do not have the experience needed for a specialist role—and that means those jobs are in high demand. In the past few years, employers in B.C. and throughout Canada have found it difficult to find experienced HR professionals and HR generalists. This is expected to continue in the coming years until graduates gain the skills needed for these jobs.
HR professionals can work their way up in a business without a formal HR education or a CHRP designation. However, most companies want their HR person to have these qualifications. Employers also have a growing interest in HR professionals who can use technology and who have analytical skills.
People in this career who work for an HR agency may step into a client’s business for a number of weeks or months, depending on the client’s need, or may act in a “consultant” role, supporting HR professionals who work for that company.
Career paths
Recent graduates can expect to find work as an HR administrator, payroll co-ordinator, benefits clerk, recruitment co-ordinator, HR co-ordinator or HR advisor. Workers with more experience and education may take on roles such as HR generalist, senior specialist, benefits manager, compensation specialist, training manager and recruiting specialist. Over time, HR professionals can hold more senior roles such as HR manager, HR director, vice president of HR, chief HR officer, or a title that has come into being more recently: chief people officer.
Additional resources