I am an American HR professional considering an eventual move to the UK. After doing my research, I was wondering if someone could explain the difference between what is meant when UK employers look for Fully Qualified CIPD candidates or Partially Qualified candidates.

I understand the UK market is extremely competitive in HR so ideally Full Qualification is the goal.

Can someone please give me some insight,

Thanks,

K.C.A

Hi - I had a very similar question from an Australian friend of mine recently. Part-quals are working towards their CIPD exams, have passed some of the earlier modules, but have not passed all the exams to acquire the Member or MCIPD status which makes you fully qualified. The first stage exams are more general, the second stage address more specific HR areas like reward or resourcing or law. Check out a CIPD accredited training provider like MOL or BPP to see the course structures and you'll see what I mean.

The challenge for people coming to the UK is trying to get the CIPD to acknowledge your existing qualifications so as not to have to repeat basic HR / business theory. At least 2 people in my network recently have tried this recently and found it very frustrating. So I suggest that you start beating down the CIPD's door right away. Good luck!

I wouldn't get too hung up on the CIPD qualification to be honest.  I did a Post graduate diploma in HRM which gave me the full CIPD qualification because I had no work experience when I started out.  But if you can demonstrate a previous successful career in HR or an equivalent level of education/training it's not essential. 

The only thing I'd worry about is that employment law is pretty different across countries.  If I were interviewing you I'd want to be sure you were up to speed on UK practice.