Program Overview

Course Description

This online course is 36 learning hours over twelve weeks, including 7.5 hours of live online sessions. It is recommended that students spend a minimum of 3 hours each week on coursework. Students may choose to complete more hours of work on the course in order to explore the content in more depth.

The 12-week course will introduce contemporary human resources (HR) practices. Human resources have become critical to organizational, team and individual successes. The course will begin with an overview of the strategies and outcomes, as well as some of the main challenges. The role of diversity is one of the foundational concepts applicable to public and private sector organizations. The course considers not only the reasons for diversity, but some of the main ways in which HR addresses diversity. This topic leads into an examination of recruitment and selection, focusing on best practices and processes to improve effectiveness. Various methods of building and maintaining staff capacity are examined and linked to the performance of the organization and teams. We then consider rewards, the total compensation function, concluding with employee relations, communication, and legislative roles and standards that HR must promote and support.

Course Outline

• Introduction to Human Resources
• The Canadian Legal Environment
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Workplace Health & Safety
• The Design of Work and Workforce Planning
• Job Analysis and Competency Modeling
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Onboarding, Training and Development
• Performance Review
• Total Rewards
• Labour Relations

What You Will Learn

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Assess the challenges facing the human resources management function and their implications for practitioners.
• Explain the Canadian legal environment within which the human resources management functions.
• Explain the benefits of diversity management and the incorporation of diversity management initiatives into an organization's business strategy.
• Discuss the role of human resource planning in achieving organizational goals.
• Recommend recruitment methods and sources to attract applicants for positions of varying levels within the organization.
• Design selection methods to assess applicants for various positions within the organization.
• Discuss the elements of employee orientation and training programs that meet employee needs and organizational goals.
• Describe performance appraisal systems that support organizational goals.
• Evaluate compensation systems that assist organizations to attract and retain employees while ensuring internal equity within the organization.
• Describe key processes in labour relations including certification, negotiation and administration of the collective agreement.

Microcredential

This course provides learners with the opportunity to earn a microcredential. A microcredential is evidence of a skill or competency that is employment-related. To earn the microcredential in this course, learners will need to successfully complete a competency-based assessment.

Notes

The Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development recommends an intermediate level of English language proficiency for the most effective learning and participation in our online and face-to-face courses.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Certificate in Human Resource Management: Required
• Certificate in Police Supervisory Skills: Required

Course Sections

OLCD-PALS0018 - 012

• Section Title: Human Resource Management
• Section Schedule: January 9, 2026 to April 3, 2026
• Type: Online - Self-Paced and Online - Scheduled
• Days: Thursday
• Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
• Dates: January 22, 2026 to March 19, 2026
• Total Learning Hours: 36.0
• Location: Online Campus - Atlantic Time
• Instruction Delivery Method(s): Blended - Online
• Course Fee(s): $1,195.00
• CEUs: 3.6 CEUs
• Instructors: Patrick Hartling

OLCD-PALS0018 - 015

• Section Title: Human Resource Management
• Section Schedule: April 9, 2027 to July 2, 2027
• Type: Online - Self-Paced and Online - Scheduled
• Days: Wednesday
• Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
• Dates: April 21, 2027 to June 16, 2027
• Total Learning Hours: 36.0
• Location: Online Campus - Atlantic Time
• Instruction Delivery Method(s): Blended - Online
• Course Fee(s): $1,275.00
• CEUs: 3.6 CEUs

Instructor Biography

Patrick Hartling has over 30 years' experience as a leader in HR, organizational leadership, and adult education. He has led HR departments with organizations ranging from 1200 to over 3000 staff in the public, health, and service sectors, and developed strategic and aligned HR services, systems, and practices. He has also advised organizations ranging from 35 to 3500 on governance, strategic HR, organizational development, compensation and benefits, and diversity and inclusion.