Lied about GCSEs now facing an pre employment screening

[LadyV79]

Hi all, please dont judge as Im beating myself up about this and always have but I dont have any GCSE's due to childhood trauma and I didnt sit my exams at all.

I left school in 1995 with no qualifications and had a bit of trouble finding employment due to this so started to lie on my CV of having the basic GCSE passes.

I am currently in employment with a Government ran organisation and have been for 6 years but have been offered another job today which Im thrilled about but have been told I have to have a pre employment screening (I think this is more detailed than a regular DBS check) with Security Watchdog and I have to enter my "highest academic qualification" and Im now really really worried this will be checked and have been so upset as I think my job offer will get taken away.

I know lying is a very bad thing to do but I saw no other way to try and get work and now I am so worried everything is going to fall apart and Im going to lose this job opportunity.

Has anyone had any experience either way with the pre employment screening or this company who does it, will they do it? 1995 was a long time ago so I dont even know if my GCSEs will be relevent anymore. I did obtain a Diploma a few years ago from an online course but doubt I can get away with just having that down as my "highest academic qualification". Guys, I dont know what to do and Im in bits over this. Again, please dont be judgemental, I know Ive done wrong but I just wanted work at the end of the day.

As @stayingaliveisawayoflife says in many jobs, including teaching, these certificates are required. I did GCSEs in the mid 80s and have A levels and a degree and had to provide all certificates in every teaching job I’ve done. If you are working for any serious organisations this could be a real issue. People are being very breezy about this here but it is a potentially serious situation.

Good luck and yes just put down your Diploma as your highest qualification.

@Oblomov21 - yes but if you have actually done them it is possible to track down information and get replacement certificates so it’s really not the same situation.

Employers care more about employee honesty than 25 year old gcse grades, so never put them on your cv again. You’re likely to get through this screening on the diploma but there is plenty of precedent that allows an employer to dismiss for gross misconduct over application lies. Given this is a new role and you don’t have protected employment status anyway, it doesn’t change your position but it will leave you more vulnerable aftthe 2 year point - you’re effectively giving them a reason to sack you without payment if they go looking for a reason. I don’t know how likely that is in the public sector (I have known colleagues fired for sending personal post - employer just looking for a reason)

Just put down your diploma as your highest level qualification, this is the truth, it is Level 3 and GCSE's are Level 2.

I would recommend for future roles you look into getting your GCSE Maths and English - you can do them online very easily these days. Just Google, there are lots of websites offering them. Your local college may even let you do them for free at an evening class - worth looking into.

The easiest way to avoid this stress in future is to not lie about it. Tbh many employers don't mind anyway once you have experience, but the best thing to do would be to just get them and tick the box for reals :)

Also just to clarify - a Level 3 online course is academically the same difficulty as an A Level - that doesn't mean it's the equivalent of actually getting an A Level (which requires a lot of study, coursework and exams). However you should still put it as your highest qualification, because it is.

Good luck with the new job!

I've done quite a bit of recruitment & signed off employment screenings in my old job. Diploma would have been fine, unless there were specific academic requirements of the role

I would definitely take your GCSEs off the CV. Once you're an adult, your employment history becomes more important than GCSE results. Having them on there makes you look less qualified than leaving them off (plus you don't want to have this panic again!).

As long as you haven't lied about GCSEs on this particular job application I'd go through with it and state your diploma as your highest qualification.

But then, to save you years of looking over your shoulder worrying about the GCSE situation I would just study for and get GCSEs in maths and English. You don't want this relatively simple process holding you back when getting those two qualifications will mean you can stop worrying.

Many job specifications to require you to have C or above in Maths and English.

Put down the diploma and if they query gcse be honest.
You're not alone, my Dsis is an accountant left school at 14, initially lied for entry level accounts administration job, returned to studying mature student, still has no school exams behind her qualifications.

I found my 'O'level (like GCSEs) grades the other day. Had no idea I had kept them.

I missed out on O Levels by a year. I had the joy of the first year balls up of GCSEs.

Your diploma is your highest level of qualification, so just put that.

I agree with PPs who say you should get your GCSE maths and English now. Assuming you have basic numeracy and literacy skills it should be quick and easy, and then you don't have to worry about this ever again.

As others have said, put down the Diploma as it's your highest qualification. And don't mention GCSEs on any future forms unless you have to.

I work in local government and the standard application form asks us to list GCSEs as well as A levels or other qualifications. I always write "9 O Levels grades A-C including English and Maths." No one has ever asked to see the certificates. However, I do have a Masters degree which is relevant to my job and I have been asked to produce that.

My 24 year old son recently started a new job and was asked to provide certificates for his English and Maths GCSEs.

If you are asked in a job application to list your GCSEs please don't lie. Put a brief explanation down as to why you don't have any and stress that you have a Diploma. I do think it's a good idea to get your GCSEs in English and Maths. If you start in September you'll be able to sit them next June. It will be worth the effort

Shit loads of people lie about their GCSE. I dont they will go back that far

Hmm it depends on the new role but I would be cautious here, withdraw application and stay at current role and quietly attain the GCSEs. If you’ve got this one OP you can get a new role in a years time and can be honest on that application when you have the required attainment. If new role is at a regulated organisation like a bank they do literally check everything you say including dates, I found it quite stressful as had very vague dates for things on CV and was actually a year wrong on this small uni project I had done - accidental but they picked it up! If it’s just a normal company might not be an issue but regulated companies have very stringent checks.

IME in most circumstances, security watchdog (Capita) are not contracted to validate educational qualifications, rather the security vetting relates to right to work and employment history and criminal convictions (DBS). The main thing will to be not to lie or actively misrepresent. The active vetting in DV and a lesser extent in CTC/SC is a different kettle of fish and, again, the main thing will be not to lie. Good luck.

Don't stress just put down your diploma. If you do want to do any qualifications to avoid this situation in future, just do level 2 maths and English, I did these age 50. I didn't get my O levels at school as I had a shitty home life and went to a terrible school I have absolute sympathy for you.

With one caveat in that what I said relates to existing civil servants, hence to you. Once you are in, there is less scrutiny of qualifications compared to new recruits from outside the Civil Service.

Good luck.

Security Watchdog is part of Crapita. They have government contracts with several ministries/departments. Their Pre Employment Screening Service is specifically aimed at identifying falsely claimed qualifications:
www.securitywatchdog.org.uk/pre-employment-screening

Depending on the nature of the job being considered they may surface-skim the highest qualification and assume that a diploma student would have been checked for GCSE grades before being admitted on the course, or they may deep-dive into school grades regardless of how far back they go.

Only the OP knows which government organisation she's applied for and the nature of the role. Some roles with access to sensitive information or where responsibility for making critical decisions that affect others will warrant a deeper background check into the applicants honesty and integrity.

[quote LadyV79]@ZAUK Thank you, Im hoping this may be enough to resolve any issues then, I had no idea a level 3 Diploma was classed as an A level.

Thank you @ImprobablePuffin for the heads up on this![/quote]
You are very welcome. Good luck with everything and please do ignore the negative comments here x

They check by asking you to produce the certificates. I did GCSEs in 1996 and have been asked for this in the last few years (despite having a levels and a degree as well)

Me too, and mine are from the 1980s.

OP

Put the diploma down for the new job.

I'd change your CV to;

"A good standard of general education to GCSE level"

Then I suggest you get L2 functional skills, they are not difficult and a lot of colleges will allow you to just take the exams.

@DaftVader42

So schools don’t keep copies of exam certificates and to get yours , you’d have to ask the exam boards but you’d have to know which boards to ask. And the chances of you knowing that are pretty slim. And the chances of the school knowing that - due to the elapsed time - are also really slim.

In your position I wouldn’t lie. But I wouldn’t worry either. I can’t see how they’d be able to check it ? If someone knows a way, please say because I’ve got similar problem for someone I’m trying to help ….

You have to apply to the exam board.

It is expected that any job applicant knows their O level / GCSE results and can prove it with certificates.

Anyone reading this thread who does not have their certificates would be well advised to replace them. It takes time and you never know when you will need them.

If you do t know which exam board you used, sorry, but adult up, and work it out. Or apply to all of them.

No way would any of the sectors I’ve worked in even interview a candidate that turned up without their certificates, even candidates in their 50sand 60s

OP. You need to find out who accredited your diploma, and what ‘level 3x’ means.

If it is a national standard-like a BTEC/ then yes, it is the equivalent of an A level

But anyone can call anything ‘level3’. And it doesn’t mean anything

@Pixxie7

If a diploma is your highest qualification put that down, it’s probably only a guide to establish your educational standard.

No necessarily. When DH started his current job they wanted his certs back to the 70s, It wasnt to prove his capabilities but as a security check to prove who he was. This wasnt a government/civil service but in a pharmaceutical company.

@0None0

*spot check

Here I am!! 😂😂

OP
GCSE's are indeed free, usually in the evenings, and offered at local colleges. Why not bite the bullet and take them?

Your Level 3 diploma may be the same LEVEL as A levels, but may not be the same AMOUNT - so may not be a full equivalent. Tis higher than GCSE though

Some employers definitely do check. I have worked in admin in two sixth form colleges, both of which were grammar schools until the late 1970s/early 1980s. A lady came into one asking how she could get copies of her A level certs from the ‘70s as she had applied for a new job and the employer was insisting on them.

At the other one I worked at, we provided references for former students but only going back seven years as we didn’t have the space to keep physical records or the time for the staff to do them. One former student who had left in the 1980s had applied for a job with a bank who were insisting that he obtained confirmation that he had attended there for the two years he stated on his application. There were no staff members still there from that time and no records. His mum rang in tears begging us to help him…but we couldn’t.