Director of Human Resources
with federal diploma

Candidates who meet one of the following three conditions will be admitted to the examination:

Track A: Federal diploma as an HR specialist (or federal diploma in a related field) 6 years' professional experience, including either 2 years of qualified HR practice or 4 years in an HR project management or HR consultancy role for complex tasks.

Track B: Diploma from a university college, university of applied sciences (HES), higher education college or higher vocational examination + (Diplôme d'une Haute École Universitaire, d'une HES, d'une École Supérieure ou d'un examen Professionnel Supérieur) 4 years' professional experience, including either 2 years of qualified HR practice or 4 years in project management or complex HR consultancy.

Track C: Tertiary + diploma 6 years' driving experience, including 2 years' driving experience at two hierarchical levels.

This preparatory course for the federal examination is designed for all human resources professionals wishing to move into a management position or consolidate their strategic positioning. It is designed for :

• The HR managers and directors responsible for an HR department in a medium-sized company or organisation
• The HR managers in charge of a major sector or department within a large organisation
• The experienced HR specialists wishing to move into management and strategic steering roles
• Anyone whose field of activity covers HR processes, personnel policy, the HR value chain and organisational change management.

The Higher Professional Examination for Human Resources Directors is organised by once a year by HRSE, usually in autumn.

Registration opens in January and close in March of the examination year. The written tests are held in September in Bern, followed by oral examinations at the end of September at the Nottwil Paraplegic Centre. The results are communicated in October, and an official closing ceremony will be held in November in Bern.

The exam registration fee is CHF 2,500, To this must be added the cost of preparatory training, which is partially reimbursed by the Confederation to the tune of 50 % for candidates who sit the exam.

The exact dates and the registration portal are available directly on the official website: www.hrse.ch

This course can be fully customised (content, format, language). Contact us for a free quote.

The course is priced at CHF 12 900., excluding federal examination fees.

The good news is that the Confederation can reimburse up to 50 % of your training costs. Since 2018, the Confederation has reimbursed 50 % of the costs of courses preparing for a federal certificate, up to a maximum of CHF 9,500, provided that the candidate sits the federal examination after the course. Entitlement to the subsidy is independent of the examination result. 

In concrete terms, for a course costing CHF 12,900, you can receive a reimbursement of CHF 6 450.00, bringing your net investment to CHF 6 450.00.

Qualifying conditions:

• Attend a course on the SEFRI list of preparatory courses, pay the course fees yourself and be legally resident in Switzerland at the time of taking the exam.
• The grant application is submitted after passing the federal examination, by submitting invoices and proof of payment via the SEFRI online portal.

For more information on the federal grant:  here.

You should also bear in mind that the price of the exam is not included in the preparation. It depends on the examination centre, and costs around CHF 2,000.

The higher professional examination is organised once a year by HRSE. It comprises three distinct parts, combining written and oral tests:

Part 1: Strategy and corporate culture Written test on participation in the development of the strategy and culture of the company or organisation.

Part 2: Acting in accordance with your role Two oral tests:

• Critical incidents: analysing and resolving complex managerial situations
• Role-playing: role-playing in front of a panel of experts

Part 3: Developing and implementing HR concepts Two combined events:

• Written case study on the design of an HR concept
• Individual presentation followed by a technical interview with the experts

Candidates who pass all the tests are awarded the legally protected title of Director of Human Resources with federal diploma (Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education, Human Resources Manager).