The human resources profession may be facing a skills shortage, but the gap is concentrated among junior practitioners rather than senior HR leaders, according to recruitment firm HR Recruit.
The North American HR search firm found that four in five applicants for coordinator-level roles could not demonstrate experience advising on disciplinary matters or formal employee complaints. The figure is based on applications to HR Recruit’s live searches over the past 18 months.
Jo Thompson, regional director at HR Recruit, said the finding challenges the common perception that entry-level HR roles should be relatively easy to fill.
“Clients assume a six-month coordinator contract at equivalent pay to a permanent employee will be the easiest hire of the year to fill, but it is the one we fill least often,” Thompson said.
She added that candidates with the required experience are generally already employed and are unlikely to move into a six-month role unless the compensation reflects what they would be giving up.
A structural problem in the HR talent pipeline
Thompson attributed the shortage to structural weaknesses in how junior HR talent is developed, rather than a lack of people interested in entering the profession.
Junior HR professionals typically spend around 12 months in a role before moving for higher pay or promotion, according to HR Recruit’s assessment. This can leave employers with candidates who have changed jobs frequently but have accumulated limited depth of experience, often with only 12 to 18 months in HR overall.
The challenge is further compounded by the absence of defined entry routes into HR at many organisations. Junior practitioners often enter from administrative roles and develop their HR capabilities largely through on-the-job experience.
Fixed-term positions, including parental leave cover, also account for a significant share of coordinator-level opportunities.
This can mean practitioners leave before employee relations cases they have started are resolved, limiting their exposure to the full lifecycle of complex HR matters.
Experience remains difficult to substitute
For employers unwilling to pay more to attract experienced candidates into temporary junior positions, Thompson said the resulting vacancies can eventually be characterised as a skills shortage.
“The employers who will not pay the premium and will not bring in interim cover are the ones who call us six months later with the seat still empty, and they file it under skills shortage,” she said.
Professional credentials may also have limitations when employers are seeking practical employee relations experience.
The Society for Human Resource Management’s SHRM Certified Professional credential does not require prior HR experience, while the HR Certification Institute’s Associate Professional in Human Resources credential is also positioned as an entry-level certification.
Thompson argued that certifications demonstrate knowledge of HR concepts but do not necessarily establish practical capability in handling workplace cases.
“A credential proves somebody has studied the material,” she said. “It cannot prove they can advise a manager on a corrective action or an investigation, and that is what clients are hiring for.”
Demand for HR specialists remains steady
The entry-level skills challenge comes against continued demand for HR professionals in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an average of 73,700 openings for HR specialists each year between 2025 and 2035, while employment in the occupation is projected to grow by 6 per cent over the period.
The findings point to a potential disconnect between the volume of people entering HR and the practical experience employers expect them to have.
For organisations, the challenge may therefore extend beyond recruitment to creating clearer entry pathways and giving junior practitioners enough time and exposure to build experience in employee relations and other core HR responsibilities.