Felix Bissong (The GenZ HR) and Founder of Talent Factory –Nigeria’s first cohort-based HR academy, is an Award Winning HR leader and Senior Recruiter with 6+ years of experience supporting startups, SMEs, and global organizations across Africa, Europe, and North America. He has led multi-country HR operations, built scalable people systems, and driven culture and performance for companies in fintech, consulting, EdTech, NGOs, and more.
He is the Lead Consultant at The GenZHR, where he helps organisations design strong structures, cultures, and talent processes. As a thought leader on LinkedIn and X, Felix is known for simplifying HR, challenging misconceptions, and inspiring better people practices.
In this exclusive interview with The HR Anchor, Felix Bissong explains how his new initiative, TalentFactory, is challenging the status quo by prioritising hands-on experience, mentorship, and direct industry exposure. He shares why Nigeria’s HR challenges stem from a lack of structure—not talent—and how TalentFactory aims to build a clear pipeline for the next generation of HR professionals.
What inspired the creation of TalentFactory, and what specific gap in Nigeria’s HR space are you aiming to fill with this academy?
It was born out of my experience, my experience as somebody who wanted to go into HR and also from questions that have been asked by many other people who want to transition into HR or start a career in HR.
Many of them do not have the right set of skills, so they don’t even get the right information. They ask questions like, how do I get into HR? How do I start a career in HR? How do I build my HR career? When people ask these questions, many are told, Go and do CIPM, go and get certifications and stuff, and that’s very misleading. HR is experience. You have to experience it for you to absolutely say, Okay, I’m actually an HR professional. Yes, you can get certifications here and there, but if you don’t have that experience, you are not HR. Because again, it’s human relations—it has a lot to do with human beings and human interaction. So you need that experience.
But you see a lot of people right now, whenever they ask how to get into HR, people just say go and do CIPM. Having certifications doesn’t make you HR. A lot of people who are not even in HR—like project managers, public administration folks, admin guys—are always saying they are HR. Guess why? Because they have CIPM. And that’s very sad.
When you go to an office, for instance, an admin manager is telling you they can do your work because they have CIPM certification which is very sad, to be honest with you.
Because I’ve been in this space for a long time, about seven years now—I have interacted with a lot of people, and I understand what has caused this misconception. I’ve heard that for you to get into HR, you need to be certified. I’ve heard this a lot. But when you ask questions, I have asked questions too even online, on X, people will tell you certifications are not enough. You need hands-on experience.
That’s how we started to come up with the idea of TalentFactory. It has been in my head for about two years. I’ve been working on it underground, trying to ensure I have enough time to focus on it properly. That’s why we haven’t pushed it out earlier.
TalentFactory is looking at how we can produce the next generation of HR professionals who will go through intensive training, both virtual and physical. After the training, they are going to be taught by top HR professionals—not lecturers in schools, not consultants, but core HR people like Chief HR Officers, HR Directors, Heads of HR. They will be part of the faculty. What TalentFactory wants to achieve is simple, we want people to learn from actual HR professionals.
How is the TalentFactory HR Academy structured, and what makes it different from traditional HR training or academic programs?
TalentFactory is not just about the certificate participants will get after the training. Yes, we are giving certificates, but we are also helping them get that first HR experience.
We are doing this in different versions. The first version is for people who are looking to transition into HR, and those who want to start their career—students, NYSC members, career starters, and career switchers.
The second version is for HR professionals who already have experience and want to build on it or be mentored by top HR professionals in the industry. We find a way to pair them with these senior professionals so they can learn directly from them.
The last version we hope to build eventually is a marketplace where organisations can come and “shop” for HR professionals. Instead of going out to hire, they can come to our platform and select from well-trained HR talent.
What makes TalentFactory different is the internship period. That is the core of what we are building, and it’s something we are very excited about. What CIPM does is train you and give you certificates, then you go into the market to find a role yourself—which often doesn’t work. People stay at home looking for jobs for months. With TalentFactory, you don’t need to do that. After training, we place you in internships. We already have partners ready. We are not leaving anybody behind, we are placing everyone we train into organisations where they can intern, learn, and even get paid. We also have a mentorship pairing system where participants are paired with mentors—not their lecturers—who guide them, answer their questions, and help them understand the field better.
This is not a long-term programme; it doesn’t take too much time. We are not competing with CIPM. We want to help people get the idea and experience of HR before they go and get CIPM certification. We don’t want them to just get certifications and say they are HR professionals. We want them to come, learn what it takes, experience HR, and then go and get certified. Because CIPM is still the highest certification for HR professionals in Nigeria. So this becomes a pathway to that certification.
What practical skills, hands-on experiences, or industry exposure will participants gain during the program?
It’s going to be practical classes that help people transition into HR or start their careers in HR. Participants will not just learn theory—they will experience HR. They will interact, engage, and understand how human behaviour works in real-life settings. Because HR is about human relations, you need to interact with people to truly learn it.
Beyond the classes, participants will also gain hands-on experience through internships in partner organisations. This allows them to apply what they’ve learned in real workplace environments. We’re not just training and giving certificates, we are helping them get real experience in the HR space.
They will also benefit from networking opportunities, meeting HR professionals who can support their career growth and possibly help them in the future.
In addition, there will be mentorship pairings where participants are connected with experienced HR professionals who guide them beyond the classroom.
How do you see initiatives like this shaping the future of HR practice and talent development in Nigeria over the next few years?
I have a hot take: I think the reason most Nigerian companies have terrible HR is not because good HR people don’t exist. It’s because there’s no structured way to produce them—no pipeline, no pathway, no standard. Just certifications and vibes.
TalentFactory is that structure. We are bringing a pipeline, a pathway, and standards for producing HR professionals.
We are not just giving certificates or organising graduations. We are providing a real pathway. When you learn from people who have led thousands of individuals and organisations, you gain practical knowledge, not just theory.
We’re not just teaching labour law, we’re teaching how to implement it. How to see it in an actionable, practical way.
This is going to be a game changer because it will broaden people’s mindset. Some people think HR is just about hiring and firing, but we are showing how important HR is in the entire corporate value chain.
What we are doing is helping to build truly structured HR professionals—not just people with certifications who feel like they are HR.
For interested applicants, what should they expect in terms of programme structure, access, and participation?
It’s a 12-week (three-month) intensive training programme . We are using a hybrid model. It will be mostly online, but every month, we will have one physical class per location—starting with Lagos. So within the three months, participants will attend three physical classes. These physical sessions are not just for listening. Participants will be actively involved, networking with HR professionals and building meaningful connections.
We are still building our learning management system (LMS), but for now, we plan to use platforms like Zoom to run the classes and share materials. Participants will also be able to access more information and updates via our website at https://tf.thegenzhr.com/
The launch date is set for April 20, 2026. The programme is tuition-based, but we are still working on the pricing. We are doing cost-benefit analysis to ensure it is affordable while still delivering value. We also plan to introduce installment payment options to make it easier for people, especially considering the current economic situation in Nigeria. We want it to be accessible while still maintaining quality and impact.
