For those of you who think checking references is a waste of time - read on.... the news aint good if you've got a souped up CV with 'creative gap closures' only 1 CSE but a master's degree listed.
-------------------
The Professional Contractors Group (PCG) has joined forces with specialist firm BackgroundChecking.com to offer members a background checking service.
The new scheme, called PCG (QP) - for "Quality People" - allows members to have their qualifications, work experience and references independently verified to BS7858 standard.
With increasing pressure from regulators and legislation, employers and agencies are taking more care about checking the backgrounds not only of potential employees but also of freelance contractors and consultants.
Terrorism
The threat of terrorism is one of several reasons why organisations seek to establish the bona fides of their workers, and whilst this can raise difficult and sensitive issues for all parties concerned, it is increasingly been seen as good practice to reduce risk and ensure peace of mind.
For freelance contractors, the vetting process can delay starting on a new project or assignment. The PCG (QP) scheme seeks to overcome this obstacle by providing candidates with a rolling three-year "passport", once their curriculum vitae has been thoroughly checked to BS7858 level and certified.
Checking Process
The checking process covers:
* Basic personal and financial check - electoral roll, county court judgments (CCJs), bankruptcy check
* Highest educational qualification
* Further technical or professional qualification or membership
* Full ten-year continuous history to include date of leaving continuous education, verification of employment dates, employment gaps and basic criminal records check (unspent convictions)
Announcing the scheme, PCG's chief executive John Thomas said, "This complements our innovative ISO9001 certification scheme, also designed to promote our members commercially and give them a competitive edge.
Accurate CVs
“Engaging contractors with integrity, who have the necessary skills and competence to do the job, is crucial for the success of a project. By making it easier for freelance candidates to prove that the information on their CVs is accurate, PCG (QP) will save agencies and clients both time and money, and allow faster fulfilment of assignments requiring clearance. Everyone wins."
Safeguards
Steve Bailey, chief executive of BackgroundChecking.com, said, "Organisations are looking for three basic safeguards. They want to protect their business from fraudsters, they want to protect their existing employees from unknown elements entering the workplace and they want to protect their customers from any kind of threat.
“We are delighted to be working with PCG to deliver a background checking solution for contractors who move from project to project."
Happy Agents
Derek Wreay, managing director of the Wreay Group and a member of the ATSCo executive committee, said, "People deliberately misleading on their CVs is one of the biggest bugbears for our recruiters, and we welcome PCG's initiative.
“Large corporates typically spend millions of pounds on physical security, like manned guarding and biometric access to buildings and computer systems.
“They are now waking up to the fact that they rarely check out new contractors and employees with the same rigour, and yet IDC research shows that 80 per cent of threats come from within the workplace."
-------------------
The Professional Contractors Group (PCG) has joined forces with specialist firm BackgroundChecking.com to offer members a background checking service.
The new scheme, called PCG (QP) - for "Quality People" - allows members to have their qualifications, work experience and references independently verified to BS7858 standard.
With increasing pressure from regulators and legislation, employers and agencies are taking more care about checking the backgrounds not only of potential employees but also of freelance contractors and consultants.
Terrorism
The threat of terrorism is one of several reasons why organisations seek to establish the bona fides of their workers, and whilst this can raise difficult and sensitive issues for all parties concerned, it is increasingly been seen as good practice to reduce risk and ensure peace of mind.
For freelance contractors, the vetting process can delay starting on a new project or assignment. The PCG (QP) scheme seeks to overcome this obstacle by providing candidates with a rolling three-year "passport", once their curriculum vitae has been thoroughly checked to BS7858 level and certified.
Checking Process
The checking process covers:
* Basic personal and financial check - electoral roll, county court judgments (CCJs), bankruptcy check
* Highest educational qualification
* Further technical or professional qualification or membership
* Full ten-year continuous history to include date of leaving continuous education, verification of employment dates, employment gaps and basic criminal records check (unspent convictions)
Announcing the scheme, PCG's chief executive John Thomas said, "This complements our innovative ISO9001 certification scheme, also designed to promote our members commercially and give them a competitive edge.
Accurate CVs
“Engaging contractors with integrity, who have the necessary skills and competence to do the job, is crucial for the success of a project. By making it easier for freelance candidates to prove that the information on their CVs is accurate, PCG (QP) will save agencies and clients both time and money, and allow faster fulfilment of assignments requiring clearance. Everyone wins."
Safeguards
Steve Bailey, chief executive of BackgroundChecking.com, said, "Organisations are looking for three basic safeguards. They want to protect their business from fraudsters, they want to protect their existing employees from unknown elements entering the workplace and they want to protect their customers from any kind of threat.
“We are delighted to be working with PCG to deliver a background checking solution for contractors who move from project to project."
Happy Agents
Derek Wreay, managing director of the Wreay Group and a member of the ATSCo executive committee, said, "People deliberately misleading on their CVs is one of the biggest bugbears for our recruiters, and we welcome PCG's initiative.
“Large corporates typically spend millions of pounds on physical security, like manned guarding and biometric access to buildings and computer systems.
“They are now waking up to the fact that they rarely check out new contractors and employees with the same rigour, and yet IDC research shows that 80 per cent of threats come from within the workplace."
Comment