The Human Resource profession is at the heart of the implementation of the HRD Strategy for South Africa. This internationally recognized profession, more than any other, is responsible for transformation, sourcing, training and retaining talent and ensuring harmonious work relationships. The SABPP’s role is to professionalise this function to ensure that HR becomes an increasingly recognized and respected profession. The Board is an accredited ETQA (Education and Training Quality Assurance body) under the SAQA Act and thus a statutory body.

The SABPP was established in 1982 by the Institute for Personnel Management (IPM) and has fulfilled the function of being the standards and professional registration body for HR, registering more than 7000 HR professionals, accrediting providers and guarding ethics. Some of the Board’s outputs include a Board Paper on HR competencies and HR Profiles, creating a career path for HR by aligning registration levels to the NQF, a workable RPL system for professional registration, an electronic continued professional development programme, published research and an HR dictionary. The Board has kept itself financially viable and stable with careful management and a small infrastructure. The Board has a track record of delivering high quality services at a reasonable rate.

When the Board was formed more than 20 years ago, it adopted a basic premise of no discrimination and members of the previously disadvantaged groups were elected to all our Boards since inception. In 1989 a Board examination was introduced to allow talented people without the necessary qualifications a route to professional registration. This examination was terminated when the Board applied for ETQA status with SAQA, as it was indicated that such an activity would jeopardize the granting of the quality assurance function. The overseeing of proper recognition of prior learning practices by providers in the HR field would, however, become an ETQA function.