Short Courses Continued: What HR, Engineering & Other Professionals Should Pursue

By Selipha Kihagi

Today we continue on our series for short courses to pursue in various professions. In our first article on this subject we covered general courses that employers look for, while in our second one we went a little deeper into IT, Accounting, Procurement and Banking. You can read more on these here and here.

From the questions asked by job seekers through comments on the two prior articles, today’s write up continues to cover the most asked about professions in detail and the not so commonly asked as a mention. So read through this article to see where your profession is featured and use that as a guide. Short courses will help you stay ahead of other applicants where Kenyan employers are concerned, so here you go.

Short Courses To Pursue If You Are In These Professions

1. Human Resources Professionals
Most of you asked about the HR profession and what short courses are available in the field. To begin with, any HR professional is required by Kenyan law to take up a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) certificate. The course takes 1 year and is administered by the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM).

Then there is the post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management required in most HR positions today. For the experienced professionals, you will also need the Certified Human Resource Director (CHRD) certificate. It might also help your chances if you are acquainted with Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) or Hiring Management systems (HMS) and other HR software.

2. Engineering Professionals
When it comes to Engineering, the courses you decide to pursue will depend on your area of specialization and the industry you are looking to venture into. For example if you want to go into banking and related, a financial engineering course or CFA might be required. In the energy industry, a Post graduate Diploma in Energy Management takes 1 year, while those in Automotive, there is Post graduate diploma in automotive engineering. Decide on your area of specialization first, and then research on the course.

Those looking to become systems engineers, technical support engineers, Systems or Network analyst may want to pursue MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) certification. Another thing to remember is as a graduate Engineer, you will want to register with the Engineers Registration Board of Kenya; helps in government, NGO and parastatal jobs.

3. Marketing Professionals
With marketers, the short courses to pursue may start with a certificate in professional marketing or post graduate diploma from CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing). You can also pursue the 6 months post-graduate diploma in Marketing offered by MSK (Marketing Society of Kenya) or the Professional Marketing certification also by MSK. As an addition, MSK offers several other short courses that take only 2 weeks for anyone looking to specialize in a specific area. Visit their website for more.

Communications and public Relations professionals looking to grow their career within a dynamic organization can also pursue the MSK short courses of their choice. There is a variety depending on specialization area.

4. Statistics Professionals
If your qualifications are in Statistics, then again, the short courses you pursue will be determined by the area you want to specialize. Common courses may include the usual Statistics packages that include SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences), SAS (Statistical Analysis System), etc or professional certification in Statistical Data analysis or Data Science, Social Science Statistics, Programming for data science, mathematical statistics, or even just applied statistics.

It will all depend on what industry and area you want to deal with. Today it could be in Big Data, Analytics, or Security and related. That’s why you will find various certifications offered by IBM for Statistics and Engineering professionals. Visit their website to learn more and keep up with the trends.

5. Project Management Professionals
For those who asked about Project Management, there is the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification, PMI certifications or Advanced Diploma in Project Management. You might also take up a short course in Monitoring & Evaluation, Advocacy related courses, Fundraising and Resource Mobilization courses or even practical project management and sustainability. These will increase your chances in getting jobs, especially with NGOs.

Whatever your profession, the short courses to pursue will depend on the area of specialization you are more inclined towards. Take time to consider your area then research on it. Make Google your friend and visit institutions if you must.

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