According to Ina van der Merwe, Director and CEO, Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE), qualification fraud is fast becoming a significant problem in South Africa – increasing by 200% over the last five years (2009 – 2014) and impacting even the highest executive levels. “The massive increase in the last five years refers to qualifications we have found to be falsified, invalid or inconsistent. This includes those which have been purchased from a ‘degree mill, altered or simply included on a CV with no physical or recorded evidence,” van der Merwe explains. “Unfortunately, as these fraudsters enter the workforce, a number of honest and legitimately qualified individuals are side-lined for the respective position,” she adds. The biggest culprits? Van der Merwe shares that the sector recording the highest percentage of qualification fraud is the trade industry.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com