Human resources and recruitment officers identify and advertise job vacancies, recruit appropriate candidates and help with the selection and reassignment of employees.
Workers in this group:
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: 1,290
N/A - Data not available
Human resources and recruitment officers perform some or all of the following duties:
Human resources and recruitment officers are typically employed by larger organizations. Work takes place in an office environment for approximately 35 to 40 hours during the work week although working evenings or on weekends as well as some travel may be required.
These workers interact with employees, job applicants and members of management. They may represent their organization in developing important relationships with competitors, government, educational institutions and the public, which can be critical for the business to achieve its priorities.
Human resources and recruitment officers must be able to carefully deal with sometimes challenging or potentially stressful situations that may arise from hiring, employee qualifications, staffing shortages, employment equity and privacy issues.
Source: 2016 Census
Human resources and recruitment officers are generally required to have a college diploma or university degree in a field related to human resources management. Other training may include:
For more information, consult the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of British Columbia and Yukon (CPHR BC& YK) at http://cphrbc.ca/.
Workers with 8,100 hours of documented, directly related work experience can challenge the Interprovincial Red Seal examination. For more information, please see the Industry Training Authority website at www.itabc.ca/. Human resources and recruitment officers who are certified for that occupation by a regulator elsewhere in Canada can apply for the same certification from the regulator in B.C. Under the terms of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), most applicants who are transferring their credentials from elsewhere in Canada will not be required to complete additional training or testing. However, the B.C. regulator may ask applicants to provide further information such as a letter of good standing, references, or criminal record check. For those who trained outside of Canada and never received certification from any Canadian jurisdiction, a full assessment is likely needed. Most occupational regulators have a process for assessment and recognize internationally trained applicants. Contact the regulatory authority for details on how to apply for certification in B.C. View a list of B.C. occupational regulators. For information about labour mobility in Canada, visit www.workersmobility.ca.
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!
Most job openings in this occupation are expected to result from retirements. B.C. is expected to experience difficulty filling skilled labour positions in the coming years, which will likely impact demand for workers as businesses, both public and private, will increasingly need personnel and recruitment officers to assist in recruiting and retaining skilled labour.
Many human resource professionals work for specialized consulting and recruitment firms that provide services to smaller clients unable to hire full-time workers. It is also becoming increasingly common for companies to hire consultants to do specialized work, rather than hiring a full-time human resources employee, so there may potentially be increased opportunities in private sector firms.
The demand for intermediate and senior personnel and recruitment officers will be greatest in larger urban areas or with larger employers in more remote locations, while rural areas are expected to have greater difficulty in obtaining skilled workers.
Applicants who have experience, as well as the ability to process and interpret data, prepare and deliver presentations and have a broad understanding of human resources trends will be most in demand by employers. Workers who are competent in using social networking technologies will also have an advantage.
Career paths
Recent graduates may be hired at the junior administrative level. Such positions may include: human resources generalist, recruitment coordinator, administrator or assistant, staffing administrator, personnel administrator or human resources administrator, coordinator or assistant.
Workers with experience and further education may progress to specialist and management positions, such as recruiters, recruitment managers, staffing managers, personnel managers, human resources managers, recruitment specialists or self-employed recruiters.
As well, many specialist opportunities may be available to experienced workers, and work may involve international recruiting, immigration, compensation and benefits, health and safety and developing strategies for employee retention.
Additional resources