UK Trailing Behind with Qualification Verification

Why does the UK suffer from such a high rate of qualification fraud?

Unbelievably, 48% of HR professionals do not check that the qualifications their candidates claim to have are real,¹ and of the organisations that do carry out checks, most tend to trust copies of diplomas rather than checking them at source.

It is a serious concern to know that many of these organisations are in regulated industries such as education, legal, financial services and even medical, including the NHS. This complete disregard or misunderstanding as to how to properly check qualifications is enabling fraudsters to get away with this criminal offence far too often and with disastrous results.

Recent degree fraud in the media highlighted an ambulance trust boss who faked qualifications, claiming to be a traffic police officer who was teaching paramedics how to drive at speed on 999 calls. Another shocking example describes NHS manager, Jon Andrews, who fabricated several qualifications, including two PhD’s. He has since been jailed for two years after giving himself the fraudulent doctorate title and working in the industry for over a decade.

With tens of thousands of educational institutions throughout the world, and most updating the format and style of their degree certificates regularly, it is impossible to know if a certificate is authentic or not.

With the combination of the trust that the majority of UK companies place on candidates’ CV’s and certificates, and with almost half of workers (46 percent) saying they know someone who included false information on a CV², it’s no wonder qualification fraud is rife in the UK. The rise in ‘diploma mills’, bogus universities and fake certification websites is further making the illegal activity of embellishing one’s qualifications extremely accessible.

In the USA, companies have been verifying candidate’s qualifications at source for decades to ensure degree fraud is put to a stop. Middle Eastern government bodies that regulate industries including health and engineering insist employees register with them before working in the country and ensure that they get their qualifications checked at source.

Edward Hall, CEO, Qualification Check, says: “With more than a third of Londoners born abroad, job candidates credentials could come from educational institutions all over the world. Modern day businesses simply don’t have the time to verify these qualifications manually as language barriers, varying time zones and data protection rules all make it an extremely arduous process. However, this doesn’t mean that simply viewing a candidate’s paper certificate is satisfactory, the qualifications must be checked at source to ensure legitimacy.”

It’s most definitely become a high priority for the UK to ensure all candidate qualifications are checked accurately and source in order to put an end to qualification fraud.

Ends

Notes to Editor:

About Qualification Check:

Qualification Check are experts in the verification of credentials and have produced a web-based service that enables qualifications to be checked accurately and efficiently at source. Operating worldwide, covering tens of thousands of universities, colleges and professional bodies, Qualification Check provide an intuitive, automated, one-stop solution for employers, government agencies and human resources professionals to verify applicants’ qualifications.

1. Adzuna Job Market Report 2018

2. Office Team Survey: https://s3.amazonaws.com/filecache.drivetheweb.com/mr4enh_rhigroups_officeteam/1686/OfficeTeam+Lying+on+Resume+Infographic.jpg

For further press information and images please contact:

Qualification Check

Tel: (+44) 0203 289 3022

Email: ed.hall@qualificationcheck.com

Website: www.qualificationcheck.com