Josh Bersin Company Reinvents HR Certification with AI-Driven, Real-World Learning and 35 Years of Research

• New credentialing body for HR, The Josh Bersin Institute, offers Global HR Excellence Certification with USC Marshall School of Business Executive Education
• Unlike traditional certifications, this program is based on real-world best practices in 95 domains of HR, including case studies, industry maturity models, technology solutions, and AI-driven simulations, creating an innovative new kind of HR credential in today's rapidly changing business world
• The initiative unifies Josh Bersin Company research, AI, and learning to help HR professionals upgrade their capabilities as AI transforms organizations, incorporating the company's HR 2030 Agentic HR models into the curriculum

OAKLAND, Calif., June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Josh Bersin Company, the world's most trusted HR advisory firm, today unveiled The Josh Bersin Institute, a professional standards and capability institution for HR in the AI era. The Institute is designed not just to teach abstract HR concepts, but to require candidates to practice business-oriented HR decision-making in real-world conditions.

More details of the Institute were announced today at the sold-out Irresistible 2026, The Global Conference for HR Leaders and Their Teams.

The Institute will serve as a formal certification and credentialing body, dedicated to defining what "excellence" looks like in modern HR and acting as an objective standard-setter for HR professional achievement.

The Josh Bersin Company Institute launches with its first professional credentialing program, Global HR Excellence Certification, which is designed and delivered in partnership with world-renowned educational institution, USC Marshall Executive Education. The certification program includes deep exposure to real-world business scenarios, case-based and situational learning, simulation-based assessment, and preparation for the cross-industry and cross-geography complexity that traditional HR training often fails to address.

Closing an HR leadership development gap

Unlike traditional HR professional certifications, Global HR Excellence Certification prepares HR professionals of all levels with global best practices, research, maturity models, and industry case studies in all areas of human capital management. It also includes details about AI and the understanding and application of Josh Bersin Company's HR 2030 blueprint.

Core to the competency-building experience is hands-on, AI-supported learning enabled through immersion in the company's Galileo Learn^® platform and practically applied through Galileo^® Agent.

This ensures candidates are continuously supported by the always-updated corpus of research, data, case studies, and insights—embedding them not in a one-off course, but in an ongoing professional support system.

The Josh Bersin Institute aims to close a gap in HR professional development, which often either over-indexes on abstract theory detached from business practice or relies on executive education programs that are costly, network-focused, and narrow in scope.

The core certification program involves domain-specific modules delivered over 12-weeks, a proctored, simulation-based assessment, with credentials issued to successful candidates by The Josh Bersin Institute.

Tim Blakesly, Assistant Dean of the USC Marshall School of Business Executive Education, said:

"We've been partnering with The Josh Bersin Company for some time as hosts of the landmark annual HR conference Irresistible; this connection takes our collaboration to a new level.

"A core principle of everything we do at Marshall, from undergraduate level through executive education, is developing business leaders who succeed by working across disciplines, cultures, and industries—combining analytical skills with teamwork, ethical decision-making, and a global perspective on business challenges.

"The new educational offering we are creating and delivering with The Josh Bersin Company team, the Global HR Excellence Certification, aligns fully with these values, and it is a genuine honor to be involved."

Amy Farner, Josh Bersin Company EVP for Product & Research, said:

"We are incredibly proud to launch this major new Josh Bersin Company professionalization milestone, the Global HR Excellence Certification.

"Its high quality and rigorously-tested real-world applicability underlines the significant value created through our ongoing partnership with University of Southern California.

"We believe the HR profession will increasingly recognize this as a powerful way to unlock the full business impact HR can deliver by enabling ambitious practitioners to develop at the highest level."

Josh Bersin Company CEO Josh Bersin said:

"AI is transforming everything in HR, and HR has to evolve into a true business discipline.

"That shift can only happen if L&D is elevated to be strategy-led, business-supporting, and technology-enabled—and if people are equipped to use AI at the velocity required for world-class execution in complex environments.

"This is not HR training as usual—it's HR capability development under real-world pressure, powered by AI and grounded in how business actually works. And we will stand behind our JBI-certified professionals to make sure employers understand their depth and value as HR leaders."

To learn more about The Josh Bersin Institute and the Global HR Excellence Certification, visit: https://Joshbersin.com/jbi and https://Joshbersin.com/GHRE

About USC Marshall Executive Education
USC Marshall Executive Education is part of the USC Marshall School of Business, a leading global business school known for its focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership. Through career-relevant, non-degree programs, USC Marshall Executive Education helps professionals and organizations strengthen leadership capabilities, accelerate growth, and navigate change. The department offers both open-enrollment programs and customized learning solutions designed to deliver immediate and lasting business impact. For more information, visit: https://execed.marshall.usc.edu/

About The Josh Bersin Company
The Josh Bersin Company is the world's most trusted human capital advisors, providing research-based insights on talent, leadership, and organizational performance.

Unlike traditional consultancies, we capture our integrated models, research, and guidance in a structured, scalable knowledge base—Galileo^®—making trusted advice and decades of expertise accessible to anyone, anywhere, in real time.

With a dedicated team constantly tracking market change, testing ideas, and applying a unique business lens, we help over a million HR and business leaders address their most pressing people challenges—aligning work, knowledge, and skills for maximum impact. For more information, visit joshbersin.com.

SOURCE The Josh Bersin Company