I've been offered an Apprenticeship but didn't tell them I have a degree! Will they found out?!

[ApprenticeMess]

I applied for an apprenticeship job. I went to the interview and they asked me if I had a degree/ what my highest qualification was . I lied and said I didn't have a degree. I don't know why I said no. I usually always leave it out of application forms and never mention it. I am so ashamed of it.

Now I'm worried that my new employer will find out that I do.have a degree and it will affect the funding of the apprenticeship.

Does anyone know anything about how these things work. Will they find out somehow when they do "checks" or something?

I really regret not saying and if I now tell them I do have a degree they will think I'm bloody weird and a liar!

@Reallybadidea every CV I see which includes hobbies (which you shouldn’t include! Who cares?!) say swimming and running. I reckon I could run the local police ragged as I never see any of the feckless liars at the local pool

Lola, I'm not suggesting that telling porkies in an interview is OK, just amused by the idea of the police prosecuting someone for this. Some posters seem to revel in coming up with the worst case scenario.

I once guessed at some exam results because I had taken them a long time before (5/6 years) and couldn’t remember.

The certificates were somewhere- no idea where- at my parents house, which was also in the process of being extended. My school was demolished years before. So I just had a guess at a few that I couldn’t quite recall. When they asked for evidence (this was an entry level role and public sector- at a completely inept council) I fessed up and said look I don’t think I can get the certificates. They said don’t ever do it again naughty as we could withdraw your job. I said sorry HR person I am very humbled.
Made my mum search through her loft and she managed to cobble them
Together. If they like you they won’t care.

If what you said to Pinkdoor is true, why did you lie?

Maybe RTFT to find out?

Why not just say you said no as you interpreted them asking if your degree was linked to the apprenticeship? But yes you do have a degree but it’s for an unrelated subject?

I work for a joinery/shopfitting company and I would never know our apprentices qualifications or have any way of checking them. However, I do know one of our electricians has an engineering degree and he is treated the same as those without degrees for funding.

Totally get why OP downplayed her qualifications!

Reallybadidea the reason I said it is possible fraud is because the OP could be lying to get funding she is not entitled to. This is very different from making up a hobby you don't have or pretending you led on a project you were just a part of etc.
Anyway it's a moot point because from what the OP has has she would be entitled to the funding anyway and therefore wouldn't be committing fraud.

OP, some employers use a background screening provider to check employment history and qualifications. You have to give consent for this to happen though, which you may be asked to do when you sign your employment contract.

The database is the learner record system only accessible by training providers with the express position of the learner, usually gathered in the initial sign up forms

Permission*

I did an apprenticeship at work and was given a unique learner number or something. The trainer said that all of our qualifications were linked to that number. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but that's what she said.

We were also told we couldn't do an apprenticeship if we had a degree as it was a condition of funding.

But if you were just given it decomposing, then it couldn’t be linked to historical qualifications? It’s just for the ones you do.

I doubt any company would go to the hassle of paying for a background check for an apprentice. I imagine most companies are like mine, love apprentices because they’re cheap and help us spend our levy.

The easiest thing to do would be to come up with a one-liner about why you didn't proceed with the pre-reg year (decided to work in a different career for example) and put that on your cv/application forms/quote it in interview whilst being super-positive about the time at Uni/skills learned

Instead, you've engineered a situation where you are stressed because you've lied and are worried about being found out. That's completely down to you and would be a red flag to me as a recruiter especially if it put the organisation at risk of financial penalty (funding for the apprenticeship).

There are lots of people who work in fields not directly related to their degree - it is more unusual to find someone who did a degree in a professional field that has never worked in that field, but by no means unknown. Just come up with a good, positive reason and be bright and breezy about it. You are not the first person not to work in the field of your degree, think about how many people have degrees nowadays.

But if you were just given it decomposing, then it couldn’t be linked to historical qualifications? It’s just for the ones you do.

That was because I hadn't got any qualifications in the past 10 years. Had I have done they would have been recorded against my name and details on the database.

As far as Im aware you are ineligible for funding at Apprenticeship Level if you are qualified to a higher level.With your degree you would be able to get a better job !

There is no database of degrees.

I think that the real problem is - as you allude - that apprenticeships are only for people who do not have a degree. Don't get me started that anything can be "called" an apprenticeship which allows the employer to pay less than minimum wage and also to get a grant from central government.

@ApprenticeMess

However some universities have started to record degrees and there is now a verification process for those which are included.
hedd.ac.uk/

When we check degrees for new employees we have to call the universities directly to confirm.

There are apprenticeships that are above degree level, and I know a few people on or have completed apprenticeships after a degree.
They are not just fr below degree level now.

Here's what I'd do:

Phone up and try to speak one of the interviewers. Don't sound sheepish or guilty, just cheerful and confident. Say you'd been having a think about the interview (which you are still very keen about and hope your application is being seriously considered), but you were concerned there may have been crossed wires over a particular question so would like to clarify in case it causes any issues. Then explain that when they asked about degrees your assumption was that they were asking about relevant degrees as those were the kind that you understood could affect funding. However, you do have an unrelated undergrad degree from years ago and had suddenly worried that it might need to be mentioned. No stories of pressure from parents or anything. You are just 'letting them know' so they can pop it on your interview notes if necessary.

Then thank them and say your are looking forward to hearing from them. Either it matters or it doesn't. You don't want to go the whole apprenticeship looking over your shoulder!

@ApprenticeMess

One further thing which drifted slowly through my mind is that by not declaring [under the circumstances] that you had a degree you "may" have committed an offence in that you have been given a post that you should not have been offered

Usually - of course - it happens the other way about in that someone invents a qualification that they do not have so as to be given a job. Years later it comes to light and despite having been paid and having done the job to a good standard they are taken to court. This happened to a friend who "invented" a job with a property company where "he had worked for the last six years" and forged a reference. It transpired later [through Companies House] the company had been liquidated six years ago. The friend was given a suspended sentence. I really would advise either going to the company and confessing [which may well involve the apprenticeship being withdrawn] or if you can afford it getting some legal employment advice

I’m not being hysterical.
I’m pointing out that if you have received funding that you are not entitled to by omitting to disclose your degree then that is an offence.
And yes there is a possibility you could be prosecuted 🙄

There's a lot of misinformation about apprenticeship funding on this thread.

It used to be the case that you couldnt do an apprenticeship if you had a degree. (Generally speaking, public funding was only available to move you onto a higher level.)

That has now changed. The emphasis is on "substantive new skills" so it all depends on what your degree is and what the proposed apprenticeship is.

Official rules here (see E61 and E62):
www.gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules-for-employers/who-can-be-funded