Qualifications not worth the paper they are printed on.

When I was job hunting a few years ago, even cleaning job were asking for degrees.

Degrees are the minimum now as they are not rare anymore.
 
Is it only in Scotland you get free further education? I haven't looked into it much, I've only been to the local college for my general computing HND and now a Baker so yeah...
 
malachi said:
When I was job hunting a few years ago, even cleaning job were asking for degrees.

Degrees are the minimum now as they are not rare anymore.
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They might be, you never get asked for proof nor is it ever checked really. My certificate has sat in frame somewhere with my mum since I graduated. Never once have I been asked to present it.

I know people that list they got a first when I know damn well they didn't.
 
englishpremier said:
They might be, you never get asked for proof nor is it ever checked really. My certificate has sat in frame somewhere with my mum since I graduated. Never once have I been asked to present it.

I know people that list they got a first when I know damn well they didn't.
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Yeah I don't think anyone has ever followed up on any of my qualifications (that I'm aware of - I've certainly never been asked for further details) or for that matter in most case ever got in contact with my references.

However a couple of companies like Fujitsu for instance as part of the recruitment process will actually sit you down and discuss your post-secondary education (basically want you to give them a brief commentary of your experience to weed out those who've never actually been to uni, etc.) combined with a mini-exam (multiple-choice) paper designed to check you do at least have a grounding in the relevant subject(s) though.
 
englishpremier said:
They might be, you never get asked for proof nor is it ever checked really. My certificate has sat in frame somewhere with my mum since I graduated. Never once have I been asked to present it.

I know people that list they got a first when I know damn well they didn't.
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With my current job, once the job was offered to me I had to supply them with my HND course details and the location. They contacted the Educational authority that deals with HNDs, and where I completed the course but as it was 20 years plus it was difficult to find evidence. In the end they ended up using my certificate and all the relevant info I kept with it to confirm my qualification.
 
Rroff said:
Yeah I don't think anyone has ever followed up on any of my qualifications
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Something that surprised me recently, when discussing 'apprenticeships' at work is that I'd need to evidence that I've passed GCSE maths and English with my actual GCSE certificates, otherwise I'd have to do 'functional skills' courses as well. A Levels, no good, an engineering degree, no good. It had to be the actual GCSE certificates.
 
Nasher said:
You are going to be competing for jobs against loads of experienced electricians.
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Massive shortage all over the country. The firm we use and have used on all out projects for the last 10 years have said they are fully booked for the rest of the year and cannot accept any new work from us.
 
Kenai said:
Something that surprised me recently, when discussing 'apprenticeships' at work is that I'd need to evidence that I've passed GCSE maths and English with my actual GCSE certificates, otherwise I'd have to do 'functional skills' courses as well. A Levels, no good, an engineering degree, no good. It had to be the actual GCSE certificates.
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I dont think anyone has asked to see my GCSE certificates.

No one has followed up the others. I could have put down anything. A lot of people do make up degrees etc and blag their way in to jobs and never get busted. If they can do the job and have a good reference no one has a reason to question it.
 
You will need those to become a fully qualified electrician eventually though.

What jobs are you applying for? You aren't going to get a job as a proper electrician straight off the bat.
 
englishpremier said:
They might be, you never get asked for proof nor is it ever checked really. My certificate has sat in frame somewhere with my mum since I graduated. Never once have I been asked to present it.

I know people that list they got a first when I know damn well they didn't.
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I worked for my current company for >6 years, and was not asked for my qualifications.

I left for a year, and when I went back (same role) they insisted on seeing my degree.
 
MadMossy said:
Wanted a career change several years back so signed up for some courses at my local technical college, 2 years and many thousands of pounds later I have 2 qualifications an EAL Level 2 and EAL level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation.

Except it would appear from all the replies I am getting and the countless jobs I have applied for they are basically worthless and only suitable as credit towards doing an apprenticeship, which at my age is just not going to happen, financially it would be impossible.

Anyone else gone through a similar thing and managed to actually get into the field they are interested in?
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Chin up, I'm applying for jobs like a mad man too, after finishing uni and covid impact etc, not even getting a response back, let alone an interview. :/

It's dehumanising and it's slowly driving me insane
 
Jono8 said:
You will need those to become a fully qualified electrician eventually though.

What jobs are you applying for? You aren't going to get a job as a proper electrician straight off the bat.
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Mainly looking for apprentice roles that pay at least something reasonable or electricians mate, possibly getting involved with renewables, ideally along the EV infrastructure side of things. An area I see having exponential growth in the coming years, specially as alternative forms of electric transport become available.
 
My degree was a con. Even jobs needing a science or maths degree have never asked to see proof.
 
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413x said:
My degree was a con. Even jibs needing 'a science or maths degree' have never asked to see proof.
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In 20+ years, never once been asked for proof, and I've changed jobs a lot.

It's usually the HR onboarding form which asks for names and dates of University and course, I've never included my grade and no one has ever asked me for it.
 
Mujja said:
In 20+ years, never once been asked for proof, and I've changed jobs a lot.

It's usually the HR onboarding form which asks for names and dates of University and course, I've never included my grade and no one has ever asked me for it.
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I'm absolutely sure I could have done all my jobs straight out of sixth form. Probably out of school if I was mature enough.

University was fun, it was good socially. But for work. Nope. Not worth it at all.

A few degrees are essential, important and worth while. Most are not. I'm convinced of that!
 
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