The skills your business needs are probably changing as fast as trends in the talent market. Workforce planning, as a result, has become a significant challenge for HR leaders everywhere.
To help you keep up with the latest developments on this front, these workforce planning courses have been developed to provide a source of continuous learning for HR and people operations professionals.
12 Best Workforce Planning Courses Shortlist
Here's a shortlist of the best workforce planning courses I think are worth your time in 2024:
- Strategic Workforce Planning Masterclass (Henley Business School)
- Strategic Workforce Planning (NYU)
- Strategic Workforce Planning (Workforce Planning Institute)
- Federal Workforce Planning (Management Concepts)
- Human Resource Workforce Planning and Development (University of Calgary Continuing Education)
- Workforce Planning and Talent Management (Simon Fraser University)
- Getting Started with Workforce Planning (myHRfuture)
- Workforce Planning for Business (UniSC)
- Workforce Planning and Employment (HRCI PHR)
- Strategic Workforce Planning (Udemy)
- Building an Agile Workforce Planning Process (myHRfuture)
- Building a Skills Based Approach to Workforce Planning (myHRfuture)
Overview Of The Best Workforce Planning Courses
1. Strategic Workforce Planning Masterclass (Henley Business School)
The Strategic Workforce Planning Masterclass at Henley Business School provides senior professionals with insights into aligning workforce strategies with business objectives. The course emphasizes developing data-driven workforce planning to manage talent effectively and ensure long-term organizational success.
- Who It’s For: Senior HR professionals and business leaders.
- Topics Covered:
- Value of strategic workforce planning (SWP)
- Mapping business strategies to people strategies
- Practical five-step planning process
- Contemporary challenges in organizational design
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
- Exam Required? No
- Duration:
- Live-online: 2 weeks
- In-person: 1 full day
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price:
- Live-online: £1,100 + VAT
- In-person: £1,175 + VAT
- Take The Course: Henley Business School
2. Strategic Workforce Planning (NYU)
The Strategic Workforce Planning course at NYU SPS focuses on leveraging human capital to gain a competitive advantage in business. It connects talent strategy with integrated talent management and business plans, emphasizing practical application in today's business context.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals and business leaders
- Topics Covered:
- History and evolution of SWP
- Assessing talent supply and demand
- Constructing strategic workforce plans
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Take The Course: NYU SPS
3. Strategic Workforce Planning (Workforce Planning Institute)
The Strategic Workforce Planning course by the Workforce Planning Institute is designed for organizations aiming to initiate workforce planning by training a small group of employees. It covers key topics such as the workforce planning process, gap and risk analysis, and developing a workforce plan.
- Who It’s For: Leaders, strategic planning professionals, and anyone interested in enhancing their workforce planning skills
- Topics Covered:
- Gap and risk analysis
- Scenario planning for workforce needs
- Future state workforce strategy
- Confirming priorities and action planning
- Integration of workforce plans into business as usual (BAU)
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 2 days
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: 8 hours per day
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price:
- E-learning: $941.76
- Public training course: $1,333.31
- In house training course: $10,126.40
- Take The Course: Workforce Planning Institute
4. Federal Workforce Planning (Management Concepts)
This certification program is tailored for the federal workforce, focusing on the unique challenges and requirements of federal workforce planning. Participants will learn to conduct a skills gap analysis, develop an effective action plan, align workforce plans with organizational strategy, forecast future workforce needs, and apply data-driven decision-making.
- Who It’s For: Federal HR professionals
- Topics Covered:
- Workforce demand forecasting techniques
- Aligning workforce planning with business objectives
- Using data to drive workforce decisions
- Identifying and mitigating workforce risks
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 2 days
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $ 1109 - $ 1136.73
- Take The Course: Management Concepts
5. Human Resource Workforce Planning and Development (University of Calgary Continuing Education)
This course covers the fundamentals of workforce planning and development, tailored for HR business partners seeking to enhance competencies in strategic staffing.
Participants learn how to anticipate staffing needs, develop plans for talent acquisition, and align workforce planning with business goals. The course also includes practical tools and methods for managing workforce supply and demand in dynamic environments, with flexible booking options available.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals
- Topics Covered:
- Anticipating and forecasting workforce needs
- Aligning workforce strategy with business objectives
- Tools for managing supply and demand of talent
- Creating effective workforce plans
- Applying workforce planning to dynamic business environments
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 20 hours for 1.5 months
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $529
- Take The Course: University of Calgary Continuing Education
6. Workforce Planning and Talent Management (Simon Fraser University)
The Workforce Planning and Talent Management course at Simon Fraser University focuses on the employee lifecycle, covering recruitment, onboarding, and retention strategies.
It is designed to help participants effectively source and manage talent, ensuring a positive experience for both employees and organizations.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals and those new to human resources
- Topics Covered:
- Pre-assessment recruitment strategies
- Talent management aligned with business goals
- Effective onboarding processes
- Managing employee transitions and succession planning
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 8 weeks
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $749
- Take The Course: Simon Fraser University
7. Getting Started with Workforce Planning (myHRfuture)
The "Getting Started with Workforce Planning" course by myHRfuture is an online training program for HR professionals, focusing on essential skills for effective workforce planning. It includes four modules covering strategic workforce planning, HR reporting, agile workforce planning, people analytics, and stakeholder management.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals seeking to build foundational skills in workforce planning.
- Topics Covered:
- Strategic workforce planning
- HR reporting
- Agile workforce planning
- People analytics
- Stakeholder management
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? Yes
- Duration: 1 hour
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $305 per year (subscription-based)
- Take The Course: myHRfuture
8. Workforce Planning for Business (UniSC)
The Workforce Planning for Business course at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) teaches participants to develop flexible, responsive workforce strategies tailored to business needs. It covers topics like stakeholder planning, workforce supply-demand dynamics, and creating actionable workforce plans.
- Who It’s For: Queensland business owners, managers, and HR professionals
- Topics Covered:
- Stakeholder planning and analysis
- Workforce profiling and supply-demand analysis
- Identifying workforce issues and risks
- Developing a strategic workforce plan
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 7 weeks
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: 2 hours per week
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free
- Take The Course: UniSC
9. Workforce Planning and Employment (HRCI PHR)
The Workforce Planning and Employment course on Udemy is designed to help HR professionals prepare for the HRCI PHR/SPHR exams. It focuses on workforce planning, recruitment, retention strategies, and employment laws.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals preparing for the PHR or SPHR certification exams.
- Topics Covered:
- Workforce planning
- Recruitment
- Retention strategies
- Compliance and employment laws
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration:1 hour
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $12.99 (discounted)
- Take The Course: Udemy
10. Strategic Workforce Planning (Udemy)
The Strategic Workforce Planning course on Udemy, created by Tracey Smith, is a beginner-friendly program that teaches the fundamentals of workforce planning. It covers the five steps of the strategic workforce planning process, including activities for each step, real-world examples, and basic headcount forecasting using Excel.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals and managers new to workforce planning.
- Topics Covered:
- Understanding workforce supply and demand
- Building a strategic workforce plan
- Aligning talent strategies with business objectives
- Analyzing workforce data for decision-making
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 1 hour
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $13.99 (discounted)
- Take The Course: Udemy
11. Building an Agile Workforce Planning Process (myHRfuture)
The "Building an Agile Workforce Planning Process" course by myHRfuture equips participants with essential skills in strategic workforce planning, people analytics, and agile workforce planning. The course, designed for non-profit organizations, covers the importance of agile workforce planning, the five-step planning cycle, and practical tips for implementation.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals focused on agile workforce strategies.
- Topics Covered:
- Agile workforce planning frameworks
- Using talent analytics for decision-making
- Dynamic forecasting of talent supply and demand
- Aligning workforce planning with organizational goals
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 30 minutes
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $305 per year (subscription-based)
- Take The Course: myHRfuture
12. Building a Skills Based Approach to Workforce Planning (myHRfuture)
The "Building a Skills Based Approach to Workforce Planning" course by myHRfuture provides a practical framework for implementing a skills-based strategy in workforce planning. It utilizes the Insight222® Nine Dimensions for Workforce Planning™ and focuses on aligning workforce strategies with business goals through skills and external data.
- Who It’s For: HR professionals
- Topics Covered:
- Strategy development
- Workforce segmentation
- Implementation
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 3 hours
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $305 per year (subscription-based)
- Take The Course: myHRfuture
What’s Next?
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