Accredited Professional
Demonstrate your commitment to a career in HR
Professional recognition for emerging HR practitioners
Show your commitment to your HR career by becoming an Accredited Professional Member. Designed for early career practitioners, this status confirms to employers that you have foundational understanding and experience with core HR principles. It sets you on the path to HR leadership.
Accredited Professional Members are entitled to use the post nominal APHRNZ.
What is Accredited Professional Membership?
This Professional Accreditation status is achieved by members who meet certain capability requirements and pass rigorous assessment by HRNZ's external assessors. Once approved, members are awarded Accredited Professional Status.
This provides an acknowledgement that an individual is committed to professional HR development, and has demonstrated an excellent foundation as a potential leader in HR. Read our in-depth guide for more details.
Benefits of Accredited Professional Membership
Recognition of your HR career foundation and human resource management training
Validation of your understanding of Core Capabilities and Knowledge Domains for HR leadership
Commitment to continuing professional development throughout your career
Agreement to uphold the HRNZ Code of Practice for HR professionals in New Zealand
Who can apply for Accredited Professional Membership?
Accredited Professional Member status is available to early career HR professionals. To be eligible, you must:
- Be a current financial member of HRNZ
- Demonstrate all core capabilities of The Path HR Capability Framework at the ‘Delivers’ level minimum
- Have at least 18 months experience in an HR role or roles
- Have collected 25 CPD Points in the last 12 months. The Accredited Member application counts for 10 of the 25 points
- Have experience in at least two Domains of HR Knowledge, one of which must be taken from the following:
HR Administration
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Learning and Development
Core Capabilities demonstrated by Accredited Professionals
| Knowledge of Te Ao Māori | Can use basic Te Reo terms appropriately and understands how to reflect Māori cultural values in the administration of basic HR processes that employees engage with |
| Understands and values People | Supports people at an individual level to engage with day-to-day HR processes. Demonstrates empathy and emotional intelligence |
| Reads a room or situation | Can identify and accurately apply standard policies and processes and identify situations where these are not working |
| Brings people on the journey | Demonstrates reliability and integrity in administering systems and handling employee information |
| Solves workplace problems | Recommends appropriate solutions within policy parameters where standard arrangements do not fit an employee |
| Sees and mitigates risks | Administers organisational policies and employment arrangements accurately, and speaks up to the right person if they notice non-compliance |
Meet our Accredited Professional Members
How to Apply
1. Complete the self-assessment
Quickly find out where you sit on The Path HR Capability Framework. The assessment will indicate your suitability for Accredited Professional Membership.
2. Complete the Accredited Professional application form
Please make sure all sections of this form are completed.
3. Update your CV to send alongside your application form
Ensure any relevant supporting evidence is included, for example the initiatives you have been involved with. Include recent roles where you've demonstrated the core capabilities at the Delivers level or above.
4. Complete the HRNZ Code of Practice Module
This can be completed via the eLearning Platform. Save your Certificate of Completion to send to us with your application.
5. Provide evidence of 25 CPD points completed in last 12 months
Your CPD points are tracked via your Member Account Dashboard. Log in to access your dashboard and add any missing points.
Completing your Accredited Professional Membership Application counts for 10 of the 25 required CPD points. For more information about what you can claim for, check out the CPD Guide.
6. Get a letter of reference from your employer or a Chartered Member of HRNZ
If possible, the reference letter should reflect their agreement that you can meet the Delivers level capability requirements specified above.
A good reference letter could include a character reference, positive feedback of your work ethic and the quality of your work, and your commitment to growing as an HR professional.
Once you are ready to apply, please send your completed application form and all supporting documents to [email protected].
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