Hello. My name is Lisa Bailey and I’m a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology
at the University of Stellenbosch.
I hope to shed some light in this video on the exciting field of industrial psychology and human resource management.
I also hope to give an idea of the variety of possible career opportunities that this degree programme can lead to.
Let me start by telling you what drives us at the Department of Industrial Psychology.
We aspire to position our graduates in the market as professional, scientific, strategic business
partners who can simultaneously fulfil the roles of industrial psychologist or human resource
practitioner, behavioural scientist, and business partner with confidence and ease.
A question we are often asked is, what is the difference between
an industrial psychologist and a human resource practitioner?
On the one hand, the field of industrial psychology is a science
that applies the principles of psychology to people-related issues in the workplace.
Industrial psychologists therefore try to find solutions to business-related people problems in order to
improve and maximise the efficiency and wellbeing of individuals, groups, and/or the organisation.
On the other hand, human resource management addresses and focuses on the management of
people as a source of production through policies, practices, as well as procedures.
The human resource practitioner therefore supports the productive application of the
organisation’s capital or employees to ensure that they are contributing to the achievement
of the organisation’s goals and successes. This image provides a diagrammatic representation
of the explanations I’ve just provided for industrial psychology and human resource professions.
As we can see, there are different focus areas, but the commonality they share
is the people or human capital factor that is vital to the success of a business.
With the impact that the current pandemic has had and continues to have on people and organisations,
the role and contribution of industrial psychologists and human resource practitioners
has really been emphasised. Both have an important role to play in managing
and supporting the wellbeing of individuals in the workplace to ensure that employees remain healthy,
productive contributors to the organisation’s success.
Now that you know more about the professions, we can take a closer
look at how your choice of degree programme can support your career or professional goals.
Most modules in the first and second year are offered in English and Afrikaans.
However, in the third year some modules are only offered in one language and in this case additional support,
for example a translation service, is provided in either English or Afrikaans.
The BCom Management degree programme offers a route to the industrial psychology profession
and all modules in your first year are compulsory. But in your second and third year,
your core compulsory modules are Industrial Psychology and Psychology with additional
electives that you can choose from. Here is the Afrikaans version of the previous table.
You can therefore pause the video here and take a closer look at the modules in the language that you prefer.
This information can also be found in the yearbook.
It is also important to remember that the completion of this degree grants you access
to the honours and master’s industrial psychology degree programmes, which follow an internship and
can lead to registration as a psychometrist if you have an honours degree or an industrial
psychologist if you have a master’s degree. Human resource management is housed in
the BCom Management Sciences programme in the human resource management focal area.
All the first-year modules are compulsory.
But in your second and third year, Industrial Psychology is the only compulsory module,
which will be combined with recommended electives that you can choose from this information.
Like I said before, it can also be found in the yearbook.
Completion of this degree programme offers access to an honours and/or master’s degree in human resource management.
Please note that pure maths is a requirement for both programmes.
Industrial psychology modules that you will complete in both degree programmes cover
various fields that will prepare you to become a well-rounded professional once you enter the workplace.
An additional entry point into the human resource management programme is offered through the Arts
and Social Sciences Faculty. Here students who did not do pure maths at school can apply for
the human resource management programme if they have a 70% pass mark in mathematical literacy.
This offering provides an opportunity for students to follow industrial psychology
and psychology modules from the first year through to the third year.
This sought-after combination, together with the additional exposure to subjects in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
creates a unique programme geared towards training students in human resource management.
For more information on this degree, please refer to the presentation provided by the Arts and Social Sciences Faculty.
The world of work is changing rapidly and as we usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
it is comforting to know that industrial psychology and human resource management
have been identified as key contributors to the management and support of human capital
required to execute new technologies and features of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
This includes the management of big data and artificial intelligence, amongst others.
In June 2018, the minister of higher education and training, Ms Naledi Pandor,
published the national list of occupations in high demand.
You’ll be pleased to know that nine human resource professions were included,
including training and development manager, business training manager,
recruitment manager, employee wellness manager, skills development practitioners,
labour market analysts, payroll manager, and labour relations manager.
On 20 September 2018, the minister of public service and administration,
Ms Ayanda Dlodlo, announced that HR management will be prioritised in building a capable state.
She stated that good human resource management and career development practices to manage
human capital potential must be cultivated. At the same time, the “Future of Jobs” report
released by the World Economic Forum identified organisation development specialists as a growing
occupation and placed at ninth on the list of top emerging jobs in the job lab scope for 2022.
Now let’s take a look at some of your career possibilities. A number of these are available,
but will depend on your qualification and years of experience. These range from HR practitioner,
business partner or manager, to labour relations or organisation development consultant.
With relevant practical experience at an undergraduate as well as postgraduate level,
registration with the South African Board for People Practices, or SABPP, is possible.
An industrial psychology practitioner can follow many of the same roles as an HR practitioner.
But at a postgraduate level, with a one-year honours degree and a relevant internship, you can
also register as a psychometrist. Psychometrists specialise in the application of psychological
assessments in different environments. You can also complete a master’s degree
after your honours degree and with the master’s degree you can then enter into an internship,
write a national board examination with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, or HPCSA,
and then register as an industrial psychologist.
Finally, if human resource management or industrial psychology speak to your interests,
I strongly encourage you to please apply for one of these degree programmes.
You can contact us or our administrator, Ms Coreli Cillie at the address provided, or for more general enquiries, go to sun.ac.za.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Department of Industrial Psychology. Thank you. Dankie. Enkosi.