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Cape Town – The business community must verify all qualifications of prospective employees given the recent spate of degree fraud cases, urged the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) on Wednesday.
The warning came after Sacci received a fraudulent degree from a prospective employee and in the light of the rising number of cases highlighted in the media, said Sacci chief operating officer Peggy Drodskie.
“Nothing drives home the reality of the situation like being on the receiving end of a false qualification.
"We were absolutely horrified when we checked an applicant’s degree only to be told that he had never attended the institution in question," Drodskie said.
She said there are a number of high profile cases of qualifications fraud, singling out one in the Tshwane Metro by the Special Investigations Unit which includes corruption.
Another case was in KwaZulu-Natal, where 92 educators were teaching with fake qualifications before being dismissed after a three-year probe, said Drodskie.
A quick fix
Danie Strydom, CEO of qualifications verification company QVS, said most job applicants see a false degree as a quick fix to a high paying job.
Technology allows job seekers to easily manipulate qualifications, but he said it can also be used to access information about prospective employees.
“With our fully automated system it is possible to verify the validity of a candidate’s professional qualifications in a matter of moments.
"Not only does it confirm whether a student had attended a university or a college, but it also provides for certain institutions a full transcript of his/her studies,” Strydom said.
He called on companies to implement a thorough recruitment process, which includes background, reference and qualification checks for all employees.
- Fin24
The warning came after Sacci received a fraudulent degree from a prospective employee and in the light of the rising number of cases highlighted in the media, said Sacci chief operating officer Peggy Drodskie.
“Nothing drives home the reality of the situation like being on the receiving end of a false qualification.
"We were absolutely horrified when we checked an applicant’s degree only to be told that he had never attended the institution in question," Drodskie said.
She said there are a number of high profile cases of qualifications fraud, singling out one in the Tshwane Metro by the Special Investigations Unit which includes corruption.
Another case was in KwaZulu-Natal, where 92 educators were teaching with fake qualifications before being dismissed after a three-year probe, said Drodskie.
A quick fix
Danie Strydom, CEO of qualifications verification company QVS, said most job applicants see a false degree as a quick fix to a high paying job.
Technology allows job seekers to easily manipulate qualifications, but he said it can also be used to access information about prospective employees.
“With our fully automated system it is possible to verify the validity of a candidate’s professional qualifications in a matter of moments.
"Not only does it confirm whether a student had attended a university or a college, but it also provides for certain institutions a full transcript of his/her studies,” Strydom said.
He called on companies to implement a thorough recruitment process, which includes background, reference and qualification checks for all employees.
- Fin24
