Hi,
Just a quick question as I can't find a specific answer to this when I've searched for it.
My partner is looking at a job in BC, he's got the work experience and the knowledge for the role.
However, he left High School without any GCSEs and the role asks that the person has "completed their high school diploma" in order for them to sponsor us to move permanently to BC.

If he takes some adult literacy and numeracy courses over here that are equivalent to GCSEs would they be accepted as equivalent to the Canadian High School Diploma or not?

Is it OK to take the courses later in life and not straight from High School - is this acceptable for Canada?

Many Thanks in advance for all your help,
Kelly.

It's OK to do High School Equivalency as an adult, many do. High school is above old 'O' level GCSE not quite A level. A 'few literacy and numeracy' courses might be enough, depending what they are and what level. Would take a while to get say the equivalent of 5 GCSE though. The only other way is to check what foreign qualifications are accepted as high school equivalency. Either way it is not going to be a quick process, a good year or two I would guess.

This would be better and likely more widely accepted http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged/examguide/whatare.htm each province has their own. Don't know if you can do this without being a resident though. He might be able to study in the UK and come to Canada as an international student to take the test. Most people doing this here would go to night school for a year or so to study in preparation for the test.

One wonders how easy it would have been to obtain a few O Levels and A Levels with a "few literacty and numeracy courses".

My son obtained his High School Diploma and he is thick as pig shit and lazy with it. I accept his grade point average or whatever it is called is less than stellar. Difficult to see how he would have obtained a few O levels and A levels back in the day with such intelligence and effort.

Most Canadians leave school with a Diploma, could it be said that most English students left high school with something between some O levels and some A levels before GCSEs and A levels were devalued?

If it were GCSE Math, English, English Lit, Science etc. it would do. If it was just a short course at the local night school, I doubt it would count for squat. Whatever the process to get high school equivalency in GCSE or the GED would be a long one.

Kelly - how old is your husband and how long ago would he have completed high school?

All job advertisements will say they require a High School Diploma or equivalent - it's just standard wording really. But if he left school 30 years ago, I'd argue it wouldn't be so relevant.

Look up a college near where you want to head to, and see if he can sit a GED. But like Aviator says, it could take a whopping amount of study to actually pass this.

The GED is taken as a battery of five tests, over two-days -- usually Friday and Saturday. There are a number of study books available for sale, and local colleges also offer prep. courses. These seem to run over varying periods from about 6 weeks, three nights a week to six months, and full-time or part-time; you can also take the course on-line over 26 weeks -- so not a long period of study; I guess you pays your money and takes your choice. You can, of course, just register for the exams, and pole-up on the day -- but if you have been out of school for a while, that is probably not a good idea, although the examinations are more comprehension and reasoning based, rather than straight knowledge of facts! Bow Valley College and Alberta Education have plenty of information on their websites.

Hi everyone,
Thank you all so much for your informative replies.

I wasn't even aware of the GED - so hopefully he will be able to apply for the job and then take this in Canada.

That would be so much better for us - I have made him aware of how much work this would involve for him, but, he is very committed to moving to Canada, so he's up for the hard slog!

Ann - he is almost 33, so he would have finished school 17 years ago, he has taken an NVQ, but, I am aware that this is very hard to get equivalency for in Canada, so we hope he can apply for the role without having to provide a High School Diploma and then gain the GED over in BC and go on to apply for a permanent visa with support from the employer.

Thanks Again Everyone,
Much Appreciated,
Kelly.

Why not ask the school to send you a letter saying he completed his high school education.

We did this for my wife to back up the fact she could speak English well enuf that she could order a Timmies in Canada. Before the ielts thingy came along.

If he has post secondary education such as the NVQ this may be accepted. They may not have a clue what it is, but may accept a copy of the certificate in lieu of a high school diploma.