Associate Professional in Human Resources ® (aPHR ®) Exam Prep

135 Hours / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

Learn about the exciting world of today's Human Resource Management and prepare for the aPHR ® Exam throughout this online course. This HR management course weaves together solid human resource principles, timely research and recent events, such as the latest rise in unemployment and financial problems facing the U.S. and other countries. This course highlights important challenges facing managers and employees in today's business climate. Interesting case studies explore real companies and organizations in-depth and delve into some of today's most effective, unique approaches in dealing with HR issues.  Upon completion of this course, students will have the skills necessary to serve as Human Resource Managers, as well as the preparation needed to sit for the aPHR ® exam. 

This course prepares a student to take the HR Certification Institute ® aPHR ® certification exam.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Talent Acquisition

To be successful, organizations need the right employees at the right time. This is achieved through an effective human resource planning process that helps employers identify the tasks required to meet the organization’s objectives. The organization recruits candidates and selects employees with the skills and competencies needed to accomplish these tasks. All of these human resource activities must be completed in accordance with applicable anti-discrimination laws.

Lesson 2: Learning and Development 

When new employees are hired, they need to be integrated into the organization and receive training on their specific job functions. Training does not end with this initial orientation, however; employees should be given opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis. Ideally, this training focuses on the gap between an employee’s current abilities and the skills and knowledge required to perform the job at an optimal level.

Lesson 3: Compensation and Benefits 

Employee compensation includes all of the rewards individuals receive for performing work. This compensation includes both pay and benefits. The range of pay for a job is generally determined by evaluating the nature of the work performed and the skills, knowledge, and effort required to do it. An individual employee’s pay within the range is based on experience, seniority, and individual performance. Employee benefits are non-financial rewards provided in addition to regular pay. These benefits may include paid holidays, vacations, retirement plans, and insurance. An organization’s compensation and benefits practices are heavily influenced by laws and regulations.

Lesson 4: Employee Relations 

Employee relations involves the relationship between an organization and its employees. The human resource function plays an important role in this relationship, including understanding union representation of employees, unfair labor practices, and collective bargaining. Also critical to effective employee relations is good organizational design, culture, and communication, along with systems and procedures to properly deal with workforce behavior problems, employee grievances, employee discipline, and employee rights.

Lesson 5: Compliance and Risk Management

Risk management is the process of assessing risk and developing strategies to protect the interests of an organization. This may include evaluating potential employee safety hazards, health concerns, and security vulnerabilities, and developing ways to better protect its employees and the organization’s assets. Another source of potential risk is the fines, penalties, lawsuits, and settlements that can result from a failure to comply with the federal, state, and local laws that regulate human resource practices. 

All necessary materials are included.

Certification(s):

This course prepares a student to take the HR Certification Institute ® aPHR ® certification exam.

The HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®) does not endorse any particular preparation program or offering. We encourage prospective certification holders to use a variety of resources that reflect their learning styles and needs. Purchasing a certification product is NOT required and HRCI does not guarantee that an individual will pass based on the purchase of a certification preparation product.

To be eligible for the aPHR ® you must meet one of the following conditions for education and experience:

  • A high school diploma or global equivalent. No HR experience is required since this is a knowledge-based credential.

aPHR™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ are all registered trademarks of HR Certification Institute.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:
  • Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.
Hardware Requirements:
  • CPU: 1 GHz or higher
  • RAM: 2 GB or higher
  • Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
  • Speakers / Headphones
  • Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)
Operating System Requirements:
  • Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
  • Mac OSX 10 or higher.
  • Latest Chrome OS
  • Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:
  • Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
  • Latest Mozilla FireFox
  • Latest Microsoft Edge
  • Latest Apple Safari
Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):
  • Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
  • PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
  • Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.