Do you worry about recognition?

Coming to a new country brings with its self a whole host of dilemmas including work and employment. Having your qualifications recognised is integral to further study, employment as well as professional recognition. The Leicester College Careers Team have a twenty-year history in supporting those with qualifications from overseas. The team also support internal enquires from admissions, tutors and the International Office.

Recognition is important not just for career progression and professional recognition, but also for self-confidence and self-belief. The myth unfortunately for those coming to the UK often has been that your qualifications ‘mean nothing’ and that you will have to start from the beginning, often taking jobs that do not match your qualifications. This way of thinking can often have a detrimental effect on the individual’s confidence and mental stability. Looking at the bigger picture it can also have an effect on the UK economy as training and qualifications and more importantly skills from overseas are not being used to tackle the skills shortages in the UK.

English proficiency

Having your qualifications recognised is only part of the process of successfully gaining employment and career progression in the UK. English proficiency is also important as although qualifications are recognised, English is not, therefore a period of studying English to the required level is also important. It is also beneficial to put together a CV to highlight your experience and qualifications that you have taken abroad. It is worth putting your comparisons on documents such as CV’s and application forms as many employers as well as educational providers may not have an understanding of what level you have achieved already.

Getting your comparison wrong can be very detrimental as a low comparison can result in your having to study for much longer in the UK, this can prove to be very costly. Alternatively getting a comparison wrong that shows your level of qualification is much higher than what you actually have can result in you struggling to try and cope with a high level of course or training. It is important that you get advice from those that have experience of comparing qualifications from overseas and are prepared to invest time and effort in ensuring that your overseas qualification is correct and compared to the appropriate level in the UK.

Track your comparisons

The official comparison is fairly easily available online here. After registering yourself as an individual and uploading your certificates and mark sheets, you will be provided with a reference number that will allow you to track your comparison. Please note that there is a cost to gain an official comparison. Additional costs will be added on, this is dependent on whether or not the qualifications are in English, therefore, a translation may be required. You can always translate your certificates and mark sheets prior to uploading on the NARIC website, sometimes this can prove to be a cheaper option. To discuss your options you can always ring UK NARIC on t: +44 (0)871 330 7033, again the contact section gives you lots of ways to contact UK NARIC as well as a Questions and Answers Section – that can prove to be very useful.

Informal comparisons are available for Leicester College students or for those intending of studying at Leicester College. The college subscribes to UK NARIC licence annually, this gives them access to the NARIC database as well the option of submitting an enquiry and also access to a wealth of training and opportunities. The careers adviser will provide some proof of your recognition depending on your need, this could be a print-out from the NARIC database, or in some cases a report.

Book your appointment

To book an appointment please contact Leicester College on 0116 224 2240, or visit Leicester College, Student Services on any of three the campuses. Email here for more information on all our services visit the Leicester College website or Facebook /LCCareersTeam and Twitter @LCCareersTeam