CodeSignal is bringing AI-powered, scenario-based skills assessment into executive HR education through a partnership with The Josh Bersin Company. Its assessment platform now powers the evaluations required for the Global HR Excellence Certification, a 12-week program developed with USC Marshall Executive Education. Rather than relying solely on course completion or traditional knowledge tests, the certification requires HR leaders to demonstrate how they handle real business challenges involving AI adoption, workforce redesign, talent quality and HR strategy.
The growing influence of artificial intelligence on workforce management is changing what organizations expect from senior HR leaders. Understanding HR theory and technology is no longer enough. Executives must increasingly demonstrate that they can make complex decisions involving AI adoption, employee reskilling, organizational transformation and workforce planning.
CodeSignal is addressing this shift through a partnership with The Josh Bersin Company, providing the assessment technology behind its Global HR Excellence Certification (GHRE). The program evaluates whether HR professionals can apply their knowledge to realistic business situations rather than simply demonstrate that they have completed an executive education course.
The partnership introduces simulation-based assessments into a professional HR certification program, reflecting a broader movement toward skills-based evaluation in corporate learning and leadership development.
Moving beyond traditional HR certifications
Professional certifications have traditionally relied on examinations, knowledge checks and course completion requirements. While these approaches can establish familiarity with concepts, they do not necessarily demonstrate how professionals will perform when confronted with complicated business decisions.
The Global HR Excellence Certification takes a different approach. Developed by The Josh Bersin Company in partnership with USC Marshall Executive Education, the 12-week program covers 10 HR domains and concludes with a timed, proctored assessment built around four business scenarios.
These scenarios cover HR strategy, responsible use of data and AI, work redesign and talent quality.
Participants must diagnose organizational challenges, recommend solutions and explain the reasoning behind their decisions. In one simulation, candidates assume the role of a senior HR executive at a multinational company experiencing disruption, such as a merger or technology rollout.
They must defend their proposed approach against an AI-powered role-play counterpart that challenges their assumptions and decisions.
This format moves assessment closer to the situations HR executives encounter in practice. Instead of selecting answers from a predefined list, participants must demonstrate judgment, communicate recommendations and consider the consequences of their decisions.
How CodeSignal evaluates HR leadership capabilities
CodeSignal supplies the assessment infrastructure and evaluation capabilities used throughout the certification process.
Its approach combines three components: knowledge and application testing, rubric-based evaluation and assessment integrity.
Knowledge checks establish whether participants understand essential HR concepts. Scenario-based responses, chat simulations and AI role-plays then evaluate how effectively they apply that knowledge.
The simulations can include Slack-style workplace exchanges and interactive conversations in which participants must respond to evolving business situations.
The second component is rubric-based scoring. Responses are evaluated against structured criteria covering decision-making, risk assessment, trade-offs and the ability to justify recommendations under pressure.
This is particularly relevant for strategic HR responsibilities. Decisions about workforce restructuring, AI implementation and employee development rarely have one universally correct answer. Their quality depends on how leaders evaluate competing priorities and explain the reasoning behind their choices.
The third component focuses on assessment integrity. CodeSignal says its secure, identity-safe assessment capabilities help protect the evaluation process and provide greater confidence that certification results reflect participants’ own work.
For organizations investing in executive education, this distinction matters. A certification becomes more valuable when employers can understand the capabilities it represents rather than relying exclusively on course attendance or examination completion.
The wider shift toward skills intelligence and AI readiness
The partnership also reflects a growing interest in skills intelligence: using structured assessments and workforce data to understand what employees and leaders can actually do.
CodeSignal has been expanding its platform beyond traditional technical hiring assessments into business skills, behavioral capabilities and AI proficiency. Its broader offering includes role-based simulations, AI interviews and structured skills evaluations. The company describes its approach as measuring demonstrated capabilities through practical work rather than relying exclusively on resumes, job titles or self-reported skills.
This is relevant as organizations reconsider the capabilities required to manage AI-driven workplace transformation.
A 2025 Gartner study found that only 8% of HR leaders believed their managers had the skills needed to use AI effectively.
The finding highlights a gap between organizational AI adoption and the leadership capabilities needed to translate technology investments into meaningful business outcomes.
Research published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in April 2026 similarly identified challenges in applying existing HR and leadership capabilities to workforce planning, job redesign and responsible AI adoption.
These challenges create a potential role for assessment platforms that evaluate decision-making, communication and practical problem-solving alongside technical knowledge.
Implications for HR teams and executive education
For HR departments, the partnership could help establish a more practical way to evaluate leadership readiness. Executives managing AI adoption, workforce restructuring or organizational mergers need to understand not only technology but also its implications for employees, operating models and business performance.
Simulation-based certification can provide evidence of how participants approach these situations. It may also help learning and development teams identify capability gaps that traditional examinations do not reveal.
However, the value of AI-assisted assessment will depend on the quality of its evaluation criteria, consistency across participants and transparency in how decisions are scored. Organizations will also need to consider whether simulated performance translates into better decisions in actual workplace environments.
For CodeSignal, the agreement provides an opportunity to extend its assessment technology into executive education and HR leadership development. For The Josh Bersin Company, it adds a structured evaluation layer to a certification program focused on preparing HR professionals for increasingly complex business responsibilities.
The broader development points to an important change in professional learning: as AI makes information and instructional content more accessible, the ability to apply knowledge, exercise judgment and defend business decisions may become a more meaningful measure of professional capability.
Market Landscape
The partnership sits at the intersection of three expanding HR technology markets:
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Skills intelligence: Platforms are moving beyond resume screening and knowledge tests toward measurable evidence of employee and candidate capabilities.
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AI-powered learning and development: Organizations are adopting simulations, conversational AI and personalized learning to prepare employees for changing roles.
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Executive capability assessment: Employers increasingly need to evaluate strategic judgment, AI readiness and organizational transformation skills among senior leaders.
The competitive environment includes LinkedIn Learning, Degreed, Coursera and Skillsoft.
CodeSignal’s differentiation is its emphasis on practical assessments and structured scoring rather than course completion alone.
The partnership also positions HR certification as a potential source of workforce capability evidence. However, the long-term value will depend on assessment validity, employer recognition and whether demonstrated simulation performance translates into better workplace decisions.
Top Insights
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CodeSignal now powers assessments for The Josh Bersin Company’s Global HR Excellence Certification, introducing practical evaluation into executive HR education.
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The 12-week program covers 10 HR domains and evaluates participants through four business scenarios involving strategic workforce decisions.
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AI-powered role-play simulations require HR leaders to defend recommendations and demonstrate decision-making under realistic business pressures.
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Gartner found that only 8% of HR leaders believed managers had the skills needed to use AI effectively in 2025.
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The partnership reflects a broader HR technology shift toward skills intelligence, practical capability measurement and AI-powered professional development.
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