Authentication, Verification, and attestation
of your Professional Qualifications
Prove Your knowledge, demonstrate your competence,
and Accelerate Your Career
All qualifications are important, no matter what they are, but some qualifications are more valuable than others when it comes to your career progression. It’s therefore important to ascertain that your qualifications are relevant to your specific job role, and they are genuine.
Relevance and Authenticity is crucial if you are to prove your knowledge and demonstrate your competence in your specific job role. If your qualification cannot be properly authenticated, you can face difficulty in career progression, or indeed rejection from prospective companies with whom you wish to conduct business, and of course, the doors of opportunity may not even open to you for future career and job opportunities.
We’re often asked by our graduates if they can attest our professional qualifications with letters after their name. The Answer is YES! This is because we have a structured examination process, which means that we have taught you the essential knowledge, and the core skills necessary for your job role and your competence in those areas has been properly assessed.
All of our qualifications are properly Authenticated and
Can Be Professionally Verified, and Legally Attested.
Authentication, Verification and Attestation are all methods of determining if a certificate, or document is genuine. Neither method determines if a certificate, or document is the correct information required for your intended purpose, that is for you to determine with your demandant. The purpose of Authentication, Verification and Attestation is solely to establish the legitimacy of a certificate, or document. Therefore it is import that you obtain the correct information required from your demandant for your intended purpose. It is the extent of portability of a certificate or document that will decide if you need to Professionally Verify or Legally Attest a certification, or qualification.
What is Portability?
The portability of a certificate or qualification refers to the extent to which it can be recognised and accepted by different institutions, organisations, or countries. It measures the transferability of a certification or qualification in various contexts. A highly portable certificate or qualification is one that is widely recognised and accepted, allowing individuals to use it for employment, further education, employment VISA, or other purposes across different regions or industries. Let’s define the 3 types of certification used, their portability, and how you can use them to advance your career.
The 3 types of certification,
Their relevance, their importance, and their portability
There are many very good education programmes available within the automotive industry, of which some have high portability, whilst others have limited portability. Some training programmes take place without awarding you with a certificate, some provide you with a Certificate of Attendance, or Certificate of Completion, some provide an “Officially Certified Award”, whilst others go the extra mile to provide you with a “Professional Qualification” with letters after your name. The type of certification provided makes a huge difference to the relevance, importance and portability of the award you receive.
Certificate of Attendance and Certificate of Completion
Not all educational programmes need to be officially certified with an examination because there is a need for training and education that offers different levels of complexity. For example, a company might require a one-day training course for all sales personnel for product knowledge updates, after which they receive a Certificate of Attendance, or Completion. This type of certification has very limited portability within the industry because it is limited to the activities of a single company, or franchise. However, this kind of training is necessary, and it is the most cost effective method of education.
The Certificate of Attendance, or Certificate of Completion is awarded to delegates for proof of attendance, or the completion of a training course and means that the named delegate has attended and completed an event on a given date. In this instance, a formal examination to test the knowledge, or competence of the delegates has not taken place, and any knowledge, or competence gained must therefore be assumed.
These essential training and education programmes are invaluable for the automotive industry because of the rapid rate of change, and the Certificate of Attendance/Completion is therefore an important component within your career history. You should include a listing of this type of certification within your personal portfolio, together with the details of the events to demonstrate your appetite for knowledge, and to show that you have the desire for continuing professional development (CPD).
Although this type of certification has limited portability, it is important to include details such as the subject matter, the educational organisation, and the specific person who conducted the event because they might be held in extremely high esteem with in the industry. In these instances, you will no doubt benefit from the association with the education provider, and their valuable teachings. These are important aspects to clarify because not all training providers are equal.
Officially Certified Awards
This type of certification is awarded from a single educational event where a formal, Post-Event Examination has been conducted to assess your knowledge, and/or your competence. The results of the examination will carry a recognised grade to validate your knowledge and competence in the prescribed area. The certificate itself will confirm your attendance to the educational event with the detail of the subject matter, and more importantly, it will be accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity.
A separate letter of authenticity carries much more weight with the authentication process because it will confirm the level of knowledge and competence you achieved with a recognised grade, the date you took the examination, and it will contain a seal of authenticity from the education provider.
The portability of this certification is dependent upon the subject matter and its global application. For instance, if the subject matter is related to the activities of a specific company, then portability will be limited. However, if the subject matter is related to the specialist knowledge and core skills of a job role, such as “Sales Manager”, then the certification will have higher portability.
As you can understand, the officially certified event is obviously more expensive to attend because of the investment made by the educational organisation in the examination process, but it does add much more relevance, recognition, and portability to your personal portfolio.
Important: To achieve proper authentication, the Official Certificate, and the Letter of Authenticity must be retained and shown together because they will both include your name, dates, signatures of examiners, official seals, and watermarks of the educational organisation. Dependant upon the subject matter, a demandant might request Professional Verification to establish its legitimacy.
Professional Qualifications
This is the highest level of relevance, recognition, and credibility within a job role, and the International Professional Qualifications provide the highest level of portability within an industry. The elite International Professional Qualifications provide you with letters after your name for recognition of your achievements, your knowledge, and the competence demonstrated in your job role. Professional qualifications are vocational courses that train you on a specific career path within an industry. There are some courses you can take directly after finishing your university education, and others that require you to have practical experience in a job role. Their primary purpose is for your career advancement.
The Professional Qualification consists of multiple educational events, as opposed to a single training course, to develop a career path covering the specialist knowledge, and core skills required within a specific job role. The educational events are spread over a period of 1 to 5 years, each event will be followed by a formal examination, and each examination will be formally graded, such as Pass, Merit and Distinction.
The professional qualification is awarded upon the successful completion of all the events within the educational programme. You will be awarded with an official certificate stating your completed qualification, together with an official letter of authenticity containing the recognised grade you have achieved. Once again, the elite International Professional Qualifications will award you with letters after your name, and the very best will award you with a special trophy at a graduation ceremony to celebrate your success. In these cases you will have authentic documents, trophies, and photographic evidence of your achievements.
According to The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs (1997) by Phillip Barnhart, “Professional Qualifications and professional certifications are portable, since they do not depend on one company’s definition of a certain job” and they provide employers with “an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual’s professional knowledge and experience”
Due to the very high level of relevance, recognition, and portability an International Professional Qualification provides for you, a 3rd party might require Professional Verification, or Legal Attestation to establish its legitimacy.
The Difference Between An Academic Degree and
a Professional Qualification
An academic degree is awarded by a university after a specific time studying the theoretical aspects of a particular field, which are applicable to a wide range of industries. By contrast, professional qualifications are awarded by educational organisations who work within a specific industry, and they provide a warrant of competence and expertise for your accomplishments on a specific job role.
A professional qualification certifies that, having completed the prescribed vocational training, the graduate has successfully demonstrated gaining and applying the prescribed essential knowledge, and core skills necessary to perform the required duties of their profession.
The 3 options for legitimacy:
Authentication, Verification and Attestation.
AUTHENTICATION,
And how we achieve it for you
Authentication is used in many different areas of life and it is there to prove if an item is “authentic” and to substantiate whether the claim of achievement is true. Anyone can say they have certain qualifications, but are they in possession of the authentic documentation to prove it?
Many organisation only provide a digital certificate, but when you are issued with our qualifications, you receive several items of to demonstrate authentication. Firstly, we provide you with a real official certificate on parchment paper at each stage detailing your name and accomplishments. Each certificate contains an embossed seal of authenticity and signatures by 2 Trustees from the Executive Board of Education. These certificates are designed to be framed to hang on your wall.
Our Embossed Seal of Authenticity Is Emblazoned
On Every Certificate We Award, And At Every Level
All Certificates Are Signed In Ink
By Two Trustees From The Executive Board of Education
In addition to this, when you take part in one of our “officially certified” events, you receive an accompanying “Official letter of Authenticity” after each examination you take, which details your qualification. This official letter bears our official watermark and contains the details of your qualification and the grade you have achieved. (Pass, Merit or Distinction), which is signed by our President.
When you take part in our International Professional Qualifications, you are also presented with the relevant lapel pin, conveying the letters after your name, which you can wear with pride to legitimately display your accomplishments.
Lapel Pins with the letters after your name
In addition to this, your photograph is taken with Jeff Smith, or one of the Trustees from our Executive Board of Education when you are presented with your certificate.
Not to mention the glorious trophies and medallions you receive in your specific job role at the graduation ceremonies
at each major milestone on your qualification journey
You also have the digital montage photograph to showcase your awards. We supply you with a high resolution image file so you can print and frame it to hang on your office wall, we also provide you with a “digitally framed image” (as shown below) to share on your social media so you really stand out from the crowd.
These highly prestigious awards and accolades should be more than enough to provide sufficient authenticity for your qualifications with us because they impress all visitors who enter your office. They create respect and trust which places you in high esteem with all your connections across you social media, and they’ll elevate your status help to put you at the top of the list for career progression due to their relevance, importance, and high portability.
Whilst these awards look totally amazing when they adorn your office, and social media, you might not have the opportunity for them to be seen in the places you need them to be seen.
It could be that you’re trying to win a new client, and your proposal needs to be strengthened to show that you have the specialist knowledge and core skills required.
You might be applying for a promotion and you want a competitive advantage over all other applicants.
You might be dealing with an OEM, an Insurance Company, or franchise who do not know you, or your competencies.
In cases such as these, you will need to authenticate your qualifications in another way to prove them to be genuine; that’s where professional verification comes into play.
PROFESSIONAL VERIFICATION
This is the independent verification of the authenticity of your professional qualifications, certifications, and achievements. When you’re in pursuit of winning new clients, or you’re in line for career advancement, your specialist knowledge, your competence, and your credibility is the key to success. Professional Verification enhances your credibility, and the verification of your professional qualifications can significantly impact upon the trajectory of your success. It provides you with an unparalleled level of trustworthiness and credibility, which in turn gives potential clients, and employers the confidence they need to engage your services.
Professional Verification might also be requested if you wish to take on a new management position, and the Board of Directors, HR, an OEM or a franchise requires proof of your competence in that job role. In these cases, Professional Verification is often necessary and may well be the deciding factor in your career path.
People who demand professional verification will most likely not accept self-authentication directly from you, and will require independent verification from the awarding body who awarded you with your professional qualification. In cases such as these, we are here to support you.
We provide the necessary Professional Verification on your behalf, and with your prior permission, to a 3rd party upon request. We supply an official letter with our embossed seal, together with an ink signature from one of our Trustees to prove that your qualifications have genuinely been attained with us. We professionally verify that you have demonstrated the prescribed specialist knowledge and core skills necessary for your specific job role, which will mostly likely be sufficient for an employer.
However, in cases such as the application for a Government Visa, a Professional Verification might not be sufficient, and that takes you onto the Legal Attestation.
ATTESTATION
Legal Verification
Attestation of a certificate, or document, is a process performed by a Notary Lawyer that determines if the said certificate, or document is a genuine article. Please note that the process of attestation does not conclude whether or not your declared certificate, or document is applicable, or suitable for your intended purpose. For example, you must ascertain yourself, if your chosen certificate, or document is the correct information required by the demandant. The process of attestation simply determines whether your chosen certificate, or document is a genuine article.
Attestation is a legal term that deals with the lawfulness of a certificate or document. It is a formality by the law to help with the legitimacy of the material. In some cases, self-attestation, such as authentication and verification as explained above is enough, while for other needs, some certificates and documents need to be attested by a Notary Lawyer to assist with the legitimacy of the certificate.
Attesting documents for a visa, authorized departments that comprise the process are the Notary, State, Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of the respective country. However, document certification for UAE attestation, and other Gulf countries mandates an additional verification from the country of destination called Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) attestation. This is to be conducted in the country that is to be visited.
Legal attestation is required for a variety of reasons. It could be required for judicial purposes like submission of important evidence, or non-judicial reasons like opening a bank account, obtaining a visa, or performing business overseas. There are visas of all sorts like employment visa, student visa, residential visa, and others that require legalisation of documents of different types.