The recent spat between CHRP Nicholas Kanisa and Business Today columnist Samson Osero was quite an interesting read. They both advanced very persuasive and interesting perspectives of both local and foreign certification, respectively.
Yet, whereas Kanisa, in his article, did not hide the fact that he’s the Chief Executive Officer of the Human Resource Management Professionals Examination Board (HRMPEB), Osero was economical with the truth.
For starters, Osero was the first HRMPEB CEO. The syllabus, processes and systems currently being used for Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) course were developed under his leadership. CHRP is his baby. Why he turns around to fight what he birthed is hard to understand.
The push by Samson Osero for foreign certification for HR Professionals is a classic case of African proverb, “When the hyena wants to eat its children, it first accuses them of smelling like goats”.
I will not hesitate to give reasons. At what point did Osero realize that foreign – or even international as he prefers to call it – certification is superior? The answer is simple, he has become the proverbial hyena.
At a time when the government and many Kenyans are pushing for ‘buy Kenya build Kenya’, it is appalling that a top HR professional like Osero is rooting for foreign products.
While Mr Osero tends to present himself as an objective professional, the hidden card in his arguments is that he is a pioneer member of a commercial college which is an agent of a foreign certification body trying to set base in Kenya.
It is important to note that Osero has not denied that what foreign Certifications offer does not fall far from what is gained from CHRP.
Osero argued in his writing that Nicholas Kanisa did not provide empirical data or evidence to back his arguments for local certification. Maybe he is right, but did he provide any to back his reasons for foreign certification? Has Osero himself, I am tempted to ask, received the international certification he is so strongly advocates for?
He accused Kanisa of conflict of interest but then who else can better articulate issues about CHRP other than its CEO. I observe that the CEO of HRMPEB is a CHRP graduate and is practicing what he preaches.
Curriculum-wise, CHRP course is designed to equip individuals with competences and knowledge required by human resource professionals for effective job performance locally and internationally. The course reflects the employers’ demand for qualified personnel to manage the human resource function in a dynamic and competitive environment not only in Kenya but also globally.
The course has not proven its relevancy to the Kenyan market only. CHRP has equipped many HR professionals who are serving many global firms.
Mr Joseph Kombani Kinyanjui, for instance, is a banker in Singapore and reaping the benefits of CHRP while in foreign land. The knowledge he garnered from Kenyan certification has made him a global brand. Is he not a testament that one does not need foreign certification to work in a bank in Singapore?
I am not dismissing the foreign certification, though. I am simply wondering why one should go for a foreign product yet a better one can be acquired locally.
Mark you the CHRP course is not being pursued by Kenyans only. I am made to understand that 50 students from Iceland, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Singapore have enrolled on it.
These foreigners have demonstrated that a Kenyan product can fit well at the global stage. Their trust in Kenyan system should be a wake-up call for professionals like Osero with influential media platforms to use them to root for Kenyan products and not foreign.
James Mwaniki, a human resource professional, works at a leading manufacturer in Kenya.
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