
Staffing needs: forecasting, job analysis, job descriptions and alternative staffing
Sourcing channels, screening, skills assessments and structured interviews without bias
Hiring and onboarding lifecycle: background checks, offers, policy acknowledgments, NDAs, benefits paperwork
Recruiting metrics: cost per hire, time to fill, ATS and HRIS data
Tools: hiring kit; exam trainer with 15 questions, flashcards, memory and match games
Orientation for new and internal hires and what it should achieve
Needs analysis, learning objectives and the five ADDIE steps
Training formats: blended, virtual, self-paced, instructor-led, on-the-job, role play
Change management and tracking training effectiveness with LMS reports and evaluations
Tools: training plan with evaluation sheet; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Pay structures, job evaluation, grades, merit and cost-of-living adjustments
Health plans: eligibility, enrollment, HDHP, HSA, FSA, PPO, short- and long-term disability
Wellness, EAP and fringe benefits; 401(k) and 457(b) plans with catch-up contributions
Payroll: taxes, deductions, garnishments, differentials, final pay, total reward statements
Tools: pay and benefits calculator; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Mission, vision and values and how they shape culture; HR policies and documents
Engagement: recognition, stay interviews, surveys, flexible work
Goal setting, appraisal methods, rating scales and rater biases
Progressive discipline, termination, offboarding, absenteeism and turnover
Tools: performance and progressive discipline toolkit; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Complaint intake, confidentiality and escalation
Workplace investigation step by step: interview plan, evidence log, findings
Conflict resolution, documentation and protection against retaliation
Inclusion initiatives, cultural sensitivity and unconscious bias
Tools: workplace investigation file; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Hiring and employee rights laws: Title VII, ADA, IRCA and Form I-9, at-will employment, EEOC
Union environment: NLRA, collective bargaining, WARN
Pay and benefits laws: FLSA, ERISA, COBRA, USERRA, the Affordable Care Act
Which employers each federal law covers; state law may be stricter
Tools: US employment law map; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
OSHA records, the Drug-Free Workplace Act and sexual harassment prevention
HIPAA privacy and Sarbanes-Oxley basics for HR
Risk assessment: evacuation, workplace violence, business continuity, data and IP protection
Restructuring risks: mergers, downsizing, offshoring and furloughs
Tools: safety, privacy and risk checklist; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Five exam areas and their weights; how four-option multiple choice items are built
Weighted readiness score against the 500 pass mark and a study plan by your gaps
Full mock exam: 65 questions in 1 h 45 min, flags, review screen and a score report by area
Exam-day plan for OnVUE or a test center; short overview of eligibility and fees
Tools: readiness scorecard and the 65-question mock exam
This course contains the use of artificial intelligence
The aPHR exam gives you 65 scored questions in 1 hour 45 minutes, and a quarter of it is compliance with US employment laws you may never have read.
This course teaches all five functional areas from zero on video, then drills them in 7 exam trainers, study games and a full 65-question mock exam.
The Associate Professional in Human Resources is the HRCI credential built for people at the start of an HR career: no HR experience and no degree required. That is also the hard part. You have no years of practice to lean on, and the exam still expects you to know which federal law covers a situation, how a 401(k) match or a final paycheck is calculated and what the right step in a discipline or complaint case is. There is no partial credit, you pay $400 in HRCI fees for each attempt, and HRCI's own prep packages start at $499. Question banks tell you that an answer is wrong, rarely why, and give you nothing to use at work the next morning.
After this course you open an exam question and see which outline area it tests. You know that Compliance and Risk Management carries 25% of the exam and Employee Relations 24%, and which area costs you the most points. You name the federal law behind a workplace situation and what it asks HR to do. You answer pay, benefits and paycheck questions with the numbers. You run a hire, a training, an appraisal, a discipline step and a workplace investigation by the book. You walk into the test center or the OnVUE session with a readiness score by area, and you keep a starter HR kit you use at work every week.
The course is built and taught by Mike:
HRCI representative in Eastern Europe
PHRi holder, working with HRCI since 2015
Coaches HRCI certification candidates
Founder of PapaHR Academy: 170,000+ students from 185 countries and 180+ courses since 2011
The course follows the 2021 aPHR Exam Content Outline in proportion to its weights. First you learn talent acquisition: job descriptions, sourcing, structured interviews, offers, onboarding and recruiting metrics. Then you plan and measure a training on the ADDIE steps. Next you work through compensation and benefits with pay grades, raises, health plans, HSA and FSA, 401(k) and payroll. After that two lessons cover employee relations: culture, engagement, appraisal and progressive discipline, then complaints, workplace investigations, retaliation and inclusion. Two more lessons cover compliance and risk: the US federal employment laws from Title VII, the ADA and the FLSA to the NLRA, ERISA and COBRA, then OSHA, HIPAA, harassment prevention, layoffs and furloughs. Finally you calculate your weighted readiness score and sit a full mock exam: 65 new questions in the proportions of the five areas, a 1 h 45 min timer, flags, a review screen and a score report by area.
Every lesson from 1 to 7 comes with its own interactive exam trainer: 15 questions, mostly four-option multiple choice like the real exam, plus choose-two, calculation and ordering items, with an instant explanation, the outline area it tests and a retry of missed questions. Study games for every lesson, flashcards, a memory game and a timed match game, lock in the terms, numbers and laws before you move on. That is 170 practice questions in total. Every question is written for this course; there are no real exam questions or dumps. Everything interactive opens in any browser, on a phone too.
This course prepares you for the US aPHR, built on US federal employment law. The international aPHRi is a different HRCI exam, and state and local law is outside the scope.
This is an independent course. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by HR Certification Institute (HRCI). aPHR and HRCI are trademarks of HR Certification Institute.
What's included:
Lifetime access to all materials
Active instructor support in Q&A
Udemy Certificate of Completion
A practical assignment on your own workplace or a practice company in every lesson
7 interactive exam trainers with 105 questions and explanations
Study games for every lesson: flashcards, memory and timed match
A full 65-question mock exam with a 1 h 45 min timer and a score report by functional area
A starter HR kit: hiring kit, training plan with evaluation sheet, pay and benefits calculator, performance and discipline toolkit, workplace investigation file, US employment law map, safety and risk checklist and readiness scorecard
Employers hiring for entry-level HR roles look for proof that you know the basics and the law. Every month you wait is another month of applying without a credential while other candidates already list theirs.
Enroll now and start your first lesson today.