JET747

I have a recruiter for an oilsands company who is asking me to try to get a Grade 12 diploma or certificate from my high school.

She knows that I am from the UK and I have explained that at the end of Comprehensive system you sit exams on the chosen topics and get certificates in them if you pass. Whether they be O level, GCSe or whatever they have these days. We don't get, not in my day, a general certificate to say you graduated

I told her that I went from school into an apprenticeship and completed City and Guilds, then finally getting 3 HNC's in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Multi Disciplinary Engineering. I have all the certificates from my work life onwards - as most of the time in Industry you turn up with the highest level of education certificates and if you have HNC's etc then O levels don't really matter to a certain degree - especially when you have got to my age.

Has anyone been asked similar questions and if so what have you been able to muster.

Thanks

JET

Essay

Alberta seems to rely on IQAS (International Qualifications Assessment Service) to sort out non-Canadian qualifications. Do you know if the recruiter has accessed this?

While I haven't used it myself, it seems to be what employers use to "prove" that non-Canadian credentials are sufficient for a given job.

All of the above is based on believing the employer is located within Alberta (you mentioned the oilsands).

Just for the record, it grinds my gears that folks with non-Canadian credentials seem to face significant work to prove what they know & can do, and that's just how it is. Yes, some folks can fake credentials (I've seen some of that at my job, and fortunately we caught it before putting the dude to work) and others can have credentials that really don't apply to the jobs in Canada. However. Sometimes (like what you're describing) the requests seem a bit, well, dense. jmho.

allycat231

You only need to show your Grade 12 diploma, if you have just left school and have no work history.

They dont care that you got a grade C in Home Economics!!!

They are only interested in your education relavent to the job, a good recruiter should know that!!

ann m

a) I think she needs to be a bit flexible and not just work her way down her checklist! The highest level of education is the most relevant. Her issue is that she probably has no idea what "City and Guilds" and HNC's actually mean.

b) For any job-hunters in Alberta, I would often recommend spending $100+ and get IQAS to assess your foreign credentials anyway. It's a one-off fee that may prove a good investment - especially if you end up moving employers a couple of times and just want a hassle-free way of showing that what you have is equivalent to XYZ Canadian credentials. Most employers and educational institutions in Alberta will be familiar with the final document.

http://employment.alberta.ca/Immigration/4512.html

(Other provinces offer similar services)

Flossie and Jim

Both me and the other half had to get our qualifications assessed by IQAS for our jobs.

They basically said our GCSE's, O Levels and A Levels were the equivalent to completing a High School Diploma.

The other half lucked out because they graded his HNC as equivalent to a two year Canadian Diploma (one year full time in the UK). On the opposite side of the coin they "downgraded" my postgraduate diploma to bachelor level, but all my employer at the time wanted to know was whether I had the equivalent of a high school diploma (!)

I seem to recall it took about 8 to 12 weeks to get the assessment back - in the mean time I was offered conditional employment provided I came up with the IQAS assessment within a certain number of weeks.

Its certainly worth doing if you want the job!

JET747

Kind of sorted it out now.

All they wanted to see is that you completed your 'high school'.

So I emailed the WJEC (welsh joint education comittee) and they can either send the person/company a confirmation the year you sat your exams and completed school £30.....or for more money, list the grades etc.

In my case they just need the confirmation of completion. SO £30 and a copy of the passport along with the forms and 3-4 weeks.

JET

clairemarie70

Hi, i too have had simular issues with my education here in Canada...i want to train to be a RPN here in Ontario..while i was still living in england i worked for the NHS for 4 years counts for nothing here..just took a few exams when i was at school..then went to college on a healthcare course A-level..to go on to train as a midwife in uni..passed it all except my maths..this still counts for nothing here...i took math lessons grade 11 and got to the end of the course and need to take the exam...but ive also been told i need to sit biology, english,chemistry grade 11..its a joke here for anyone mature to continue to have a career here...i can get my grades sent off to be graded but thats gonna cost me around $200 and they want papers i have never been given to us in the UK just a certificate...i have been in touch with the college i did my healthcare course but i did this in 2004 and the site has moved so no hope there either..ive now given up hope of ever doing the job i want to do here ..i dont even want to sit the math exam..cos whats the point...i know exactly how the poster feels