If your organisation has more than 200 employees, you are required to have at least one suitable HR professional with an IHRP Certified Professional (IHRP-CP) certification or higher.
What is the IHRP certification
The IHRP Certification is the national HR certification framework supported by Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). It provides a common professional baseline for HR professionals to build and demonstrate their capabilities, while giving businesses and employees greater assurance in the quality of HR practices. It can help your organisation build stronger HR capabilities and improve the quality of people practices.
IHRP certification has three tiers applicable for different levels of HR experience and responsibility:
- Certified Associate (IHRP-CA)
- Certified Professional (IHRP-CP)
- Senior Professional (IHRP-SP)
Who needs to be certified
The IHRP certification requirement applies to all organisations in Singapore with more than 200 employees. These organisations are required to have at least one suitable HR professional who meets either one of the requirements:
The requirement was recommended by the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development (TWG-HC) and builds on the 2020 recommendation by the NTUC-SNEF PME Taskforce.
This requirement will take effect alongside the roll-out of the Workplace Fairness Act and changes to the Employment Act, and encourages firms to strengthen their HR capabilities as they prepare for changes in the employment landscape.
When it will take effect
The IHRP certification requirement will take effect from 1 July 2028.
Eligibility criteria for certification
To take up IHRP-CP, the HR professional will be required to have at least 3 years of relevant working experience in HR, and at least 45 hours of HR-related training hours or HR education qualification.
Organisations may decide which HR professional should be certified, based on their own needs and HR structure. We will not prescribe the person’s seniority, job title or specific responsibilities.
If organisations are unable to fulfil the requirement, they may be accorded flexibility:
- Alternative pathways: Other than qualifying through the assessment pathway, alternative pathways that could broaden the pool of qualifying HR professionals will be explored.
- Recognition of equivalent HR certifications: IHRP currently has mutual-recognition arrangements with the Australian HR Institute (AHRI), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which qualify applicants for a waiver from the HR Assessment paper. However, applicants will still be required to complete the Labour Legislation paper to attain the IHRP certification.
For more information on the eligibility criteria for IHRP certifications, please visit IHRP’s website.
Cost of certification and help for employers
The government already provides significant subsidies for Singapore Citizens (SC) and Permanent Residents (PR) to undertake IHRP certification.
On top of these subsidies, we will provide an additional $100 subsidy from 1 October 2026 until 30 June 2028. This will bring certification fees down to $163.50 for IHRP-Certified Professional (IHRP-CP) certification and $272.50 for IHRP Senior Professionals (IHRP-SP) certification, which are valid for three years.
Proposed enhanced subsidy for IHRP Certifications
| IHRP Certifications |
Current certification fee (after GST) |
Certification fee after enhanced subsidy (after GST) |
| IHRP-CA (Working professionals) |
SCs/PRs: $272.50 |
SCs/PRs: $163.50 |
| Non-SC/PR: $425.10 |
- |
| IHRP-CP |
SCs/PRs: $272.50 |
SCs/PRs: $163.50 |
| Non-SC/PR: $654.00 |
- |
| IHRP-SP |
SC/PRs: $381.50 |
SCs/PRs: $272.50 |
| Non-SC/PR: $991.90 |
- |
In addition, we will allow organisations to use their SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit under the redesigned Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (EWTP) to offset remaining out-of-pocket fees for their HR professionals. More details on available support and implementation details will be announced when ready.
In addition to financial support, there are a range of resources and guides to help HR professionals prepare for certification:
- Tap on SNEF’s IHRP Assessment Tutorial programmes to support your preparation for the IHRP certification assessment. Interested employers and HR professionals may contact SNEF at trg@snef.org.sg for more information.
- All registered candidates may access sample questions and guides on IHRP’s LearnWorld platform. IHRP-CP and IHRP-SP candidates can also attend IHRP’s monthly preparatory tutorials covering the assessment format case-based questions.
Find out more