Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Hi folks, I'm in the process of trying to arrange interviews for my visit next month and some companies are asking for proof of completion of secondary education!!!! What the hell, I don't ever remember leaving school with a letter stating that I have served my time and able to leave school, I just left when I turned 16 lol...! Can anyone enlighten me pleased cos it's kinda stressing me out, it's time consuming enough getting all the appropriate paperwork together without this hanging over me:confused:

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Exam certificates from a Joint Matriculation Board would do.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Paul thanks for your prompt reply BUT "exam cert for joint matriculation board" is what exactly??? Jeeeeze mate the only cert I got was beating Usain Bolts 100 mtr sprint out the school gates lol!!!! I take it if I don't have exam reports or passed grades am snookered...!

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Did you sit any GCSEs or O Levels? Anything after that? Those certificates would help. Does your school still exist? Maybe call them and see if they can write you a letter? If not, maybe the Local Education Authority can do something.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

It's proabably quicker to demonstrate to them that all kids finish high school in the UK- it's not like the North American system where you have to graduate.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

It's doing my head in Jericho!!! Can't contact anyone that can help me, I'm so close to coming over as well and have spent last 3 weeks gathering everything that's been asked of me ie police check, drivers abstract, last ten years proof of employment (written letters on company headed paper from all previous jobs) etc only to be kicked back down all because of a crazy thing like "proof of completed secondary education" wtf!!! Sorry I'm just abit peaved cos I don't want to pay flights and everything if this is gonna stop me getting residency.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Not quite so though. Kids can leave school, or they used to be able to at 16, without taking any exams, pretty much like dropping out here at grade 10. Some took GCE some went to A level which is more like graduating.

If one has higher education, it is less of an issue proving finishing high school.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

But then it is a question of how do they define completing isn't it? If they haven't asked specifically for proof of 'graduating' then you could argue that attending til the specified age was completing as that is all you are required to do in the UK.

We have just had to provide proof of secondary education for the PNP process - we didn't have our certificates here (haven't had to show them since we started college/university!) so we went onto the examination boards website (in our case the Scottish Qualifications Authority) and ordered replacement certificates. Took a couple of weeks for them to arrive.:)

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

I have an English friend who was offered a position at the town council, over here in Ontario, only for the lady who offered it to then say she had made a dreadful mistake, she couldn't offer it now as my friend didn't have a grade 12 high school diploma. She finished comp in England, went onto college and Uni, but they still required that little piece of paper. She now has the union fighting it for her, so we shall see.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Umm, I'm not up on all things UK school related like GCSEs and A levels, etc.

What I do know though is that you cannot have 'completed' your secondary school (High School) education in Canada by age 16 generally speaking. You would have had to 'skip' several grades to do so.

In Canada High School goes to year 12 or 13, not counting Kindergarten. So Grade 12 or grade 13. To 'complete' high school means you passed the exams in your last year, not just attended. If you failed the year you did not 'complete' it. Usually, you are 18 or 19 when you complete High School.

So that being said, if you left school at 16 Slippy, you are not going to be able to show 'completion of secondary education' unless you went back to school or took night school courses to get your GCSE or A levels as they are called in the UK.

That's the bottom line and from what you have written it sounds like you ae what would be called a 'high school dropout' here in Canada. If a High School Diploma is a requirement you can't meet it.

So that leads to the next question. What are you trying to interview for? If for example you left school but are a qualifed Electrician and applying for jobs in that field then you could ignore the 'secondary education' and just put N/A in the box and rely on your Electrician's qualification certificate ( or whatever it is called) to get you the interview.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Cheers Scot :-) soooo it's the scottish qualifications authority I should contact then...? PHEW!!! Hard work this getting a job in another country malarkey, you'd think cos of the so called shortage of drivers they'd be screaming for us to come over....!

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Over in Britain you are able to leave school @ the age of 16 like I did with no grades whatsoever but what I have got is 8 years experience in fuel tanker driving and going on what I've heard about the mass shortage of truck drivers the country is supposedly struggling with ( ie 37000+ )you would've thought that experience alone would've been enough, obviously not...! Don't get me wrong I'm not thick I just had a hard time at school and unregrettably left as soon as I could.... If truck driving was to be made skilled then myself and other drivers in my predicament would have a better chance of getting over to Canada to help out so said shortages!!!!

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Contact your school and they will provide a letter. Its pretty standard stuff.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Thanks geo4 :-) that's exactly what I will do tomorrow, cheers dude.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Its why they have all those old dears in the school office. ;)

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Hahahaha the ol dears you normally find stuck in the corner somewhere lolol wondered why they were there...

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Didn't think companies even asked for proof anymore, or I have just been lucky. I'd be SOL if a company wanted proof, lost my diploma years ago, school isn't around anymore either.. (I went to school in the US)

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Thankyou everyone for your replies but I've just spoken to a mate of a mate that said if I go onto scottish board of education site I can obtain this proof at a cost, nothing unusual there lol, thanks folks. Do hears hoping everything is still on and I'll be stepping foot onto Canadian turf within the next month woop woop.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

:thumbsup: as I said SQA were really pretty prompt sending ours out - I was actually impressed they could dust them off that quickly!:)
Good luck.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Obtain proof of what? You've told us earlier in the thread that you left school at age 16 without obtaining any formal certificates (Scottish Certificate of Education etc). Although it's possible that there are varying definitions of what "completing" secondary school actually means in practice, and if they only care about whether you attended school up to a certain age you might be able to get away with providing evidence of that.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Yeh JAJ just a letter stating I completed secondary education, that's all it asks for ;-) we've gotta do this ielts bloody coarse anyway so don't know what the big deal is...!

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

They're for two completely different things - IELTS only proves your language ability, and you could do that without ever having attended school.

I assume that you're being asked for proof of secondary education because it's a requirement for the PNP and without it you're not eligible - no company is going to want to waste time and money on a TWP for you if you can't stay I guess.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Yeh your rite, I shall contact these people and get them to send me this letter of proof and hopefully it will be enough but I won't pay flights until I get this letter through just incase, was going to book it this weekend but I'll hang off for a week or two.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Good idea. We've had people on the forum applying to AB that have been required to sit the GED because their 2 or 3 GCSE's weren't considered enough, so do be prepared for that just in case! Fingers crossed your proof is enough though.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Spelling maybe a good start. If you are going to take written IELTS, you may want to brush up a bit - an educational program is 'course', 'coarse' is rough or uncouth.

As has been stated previously, in North America, finishing high school is graduating grade 12, (age 18 for most), with a high school diploma. Those who leave in grade 10 or grades 11 or 12 and don't get their diploma are not considered as completing high school and many eventually go on to take their GED, http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page...E868DB829C39ED
which is high school equivalency.

Without a high school diploma makes it very hard to find a job.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

"Yeh your rite" "I won't pay flights"

Don't think it will be enough ;)

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Jeeeeze!!! I'm not the only truck driver in Britain that has no qualifications surely...? The only thing I've read so far is they require proof of "completion" of secondary school, that to me means a letter from secondary stating that I completed school at the legal age required by law and nothing is mentioned about exam grades achieved...! If that's the case I'm snookered :-( will have to check this out somehow.....

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

I'm sure you're not, but you're applying to a foreign government to go and live in their country, and they can afford to be picky about who they let in and have a minimum educational standard.

I'd ask on the trucking section of the forum, as I know there are people there that have had to do their GED, so they'll be better placed to advise you.

Good luck.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

I'm amazed that this thread is still going on about getting a piece of paper that says he left school at age 16.

As I have already said and Aviator has now also said, 'proof of completion of secondary school' means a High School graduation certificate. Since you don't have that as such in the UK, what you need to know is what they will accept as the equivalent of that. It will be something to do with GCSEs or A levels. It will NOT be a letter saying you left school at age 16. That will PROVE you did NOTcomplete a secondary school education to anyone who reads that in Canada.

Don't just keep reading what you want to hear Slippy. People talking about getting a letter aren't Canadians telling you how the system works in Canada. I am.

If someone doesn't have their High School Diploma but has a College or University Diploma, they're fine. Having those diplomas for a higher education precludes the reason for asking to see a High School Diploma. They ask because they want a MINIMUM level of education. If you have something higher, then the minimum becomes irrelevant.

But if you don't then the minimum they will accept is indeed relevant. When it says 'proof of completion of secondary school' that means proof that you graduated. Here is a typical example of what they want a fuel truck driver to have. https://prod.fadvhms.com/irving/jobb...9349E15B34876F

Note the " or G.E.D. required. They will not accept any application that doesn't provide one or the other.

So my advice is to look at what the equivalent is in the UK. Like here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...2025050AADcZiP ie. 7-9 GCSEs at 16 and 3 A levels at 18.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

:blink: They do however, have a lot more knowledge than you do about the UK schooling system, which is very evident from your post. Many people on the forum have been fine with just a letter and no exam results (as exam results aren't necessary to finish school in the UK).

It will be down to the individual company as to what they'll accept, but the OP has already been told that a letter will be fine, so I don't quite know why you think that your answer is the definitive one.

:lol: Because Yahoo answers is known to be so reliable eh? If it really says that GCSE's and A levels are required, then it's a load of rubbish. A levels aren't even required to go to university in the UK, never mind finishing secondary school!

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Thanks, but I think I'll just stay here in Britain...! This is far too head wrecking for me...

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

I agree with Dulci, I have been through the UK education system and had kids go though the Canadian one.

The only definitive answer is for the OP to get what they can and see what happens. Pretty much everyone in the western world has likely been to high school and reached grade 10, it is the law. Completion in North American terms, is graduation, which is more relevant, as this is where the OP wants to come to.

Leaving UK school at 16 with no GCE = Dropping out at grade 10 in NA.
GCE O levels will pass for graduation equivalent.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Don't let a forum spoil your dreams, do your own research, approach employers, maybe do the GED if needs be. If you want it bad enough you can make it happen. If you give up, maybe it was not something you really wanted to do badly enough.

Get a letter to prove you went to school, send it in and see what happens. This is an open forum with a variety of opinions, some more right than others, some completely wrong. I would not let a few posts on here stop you.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Thanks mate...

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Exactly. The OP has been asked for a letter, so all he can do is get that and then see what happens. He may well need further proof or a GED for a PR app though, but that's a different matter and something to worry about further down the line.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

In Canada one graduates from high school and you receive a diploma attesting to this fact. You can also get your transcripts from the school or school board from which you graduated. If you just left (ie. did not graduate) then they may not consider you as having completed secondary education.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

That person was wrong - if one completes college or university the high school requirement goes out the window.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

Christmasoompa, where in this thread have you read that the OP was asked by the potential employer to 'get a letter'? It has been suggested that he do that by other posters but no where has the OP indicated that the employer has said, 'get a letter'. The only thing Slippy has said the employers have asked for is 'proof of completion of secondary education'.

Again, in Canada that means proof you graduated from High School.

"Thanks, but I think I'll just stay here in Britain...! This is far too head wrecking for me..."

That kinda sums up why they ask. Weeds out the wheat from the chaff. If you give up that easily Slippy, what does it say about you?

As Aviator wrote, "If you want it bad enough you can make it happen. If you give up, maybe it was not something you really wanted to do badly enough."

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

They are using the term 'completed' (or 'completion' or whatever other variation thereof) as being synonymous with 'graduated'.

Re: Company asking for "proof of completion of secondary school"
 

College diploma or university degree. Sorry to be pedantic, but it has always irked me when people refer to a college diploma as a degree (the college diploma is nowhere near as hard) or to a university degree as a diploma (the university degree is much harder to obtain).