A new digital project launched in the UAE will help verify the academic qualifications of private sector workers, authorities announced on Monday. The service applies to private sector employers and workers with academic degrees issued outside the UAE, covering skill levels 1 to 4.
The service will be extended to include degrees issued within the UAE at a later stage. Users can access it via the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s (MoHRE) website, smart application, and business service centres across the country.
In a statement, the MoHRE said: “The ‘Academic Qualification Verification Project’ offers a range of benefits to government entities and the private sector, ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of academic qualifications used in the employment process through direct digital verification. This allows for more reliable hiring practices, reduces required paperwork, and streamlines the service into a unified verification process with a one-time fee.”
It is mandatory for employees in the UAE to have their educational certificates attested to be eligible to work in the country. For expats, their certificates need to be attested from their home country before the same can be done in the UAE. This process could take 10 working days or more.
For certificates already attested from their home countries, the process in the UAE takes two days. With the launch of this new project, the procedure will become quicker and easier.
Fast and reliable
The project will offer highly credible and efficient employment services and seamlessly integrate procedures as MoHRE will work to embed the new verification process into work permit issuance.
Khalil Al Khoori, Undersecretary of Labour Market and Emiratisation Operations at MoHRE, noted that the project supports the ministry’s regulatory system in its efforts to “curb harmful practices”.
Launched in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), the initiative will ensure the delivery of fast and reliable government services that meet evolving labour market needs, uphold professional standards among workers, and enhance the UAE’s role in supporting the labour environment.
MoHESR will function as the academic verification authority while the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) will play a role in supporting the digital infrastructure.
Dr Mohammad Al Mualla, Undersecretary of the MoHESR, explained that the new project will improve the speed, accuracy, and reliability of the academic qualification verification process. “Launching this innovative service falls in line with our efforts to achieve the goals of the Zero Government Bureaucracy programme,” he said. “We will keep working with our partners at federal and local entities, and across all economic sectors, to introduce more innovative initiatives that expand the higher education sector’s contribution to national objectives and visions.”
