NOKUT has extensive experience with evaluating foreign academic qualifications. We therefore recommend that potential employees apply for general recognition through NOKUT.
Employers can also ask NOKUT for advice in addition to the information on our website. It is important to note that assessment of most foreign educational documents does not pose problems.
What should an employer take into account in the hiring process?
- The name of a qualification may seem familiar but its content may be different in Norway. For example: Doctoraalexamen from the Netherlands is not a doctoral degree, but a 4-5 year university degree; Professor can often mean primary school teacher; Baccalaureat is, in many countries, a certificate from upper secondary school and not a higher education degree.
- To gain a better understanding of the submitted educational documents, NOKUT requires translations by an authorized translator. Employers should also set standards / requirements regarding translations and see them in connection with the documentation in the original language.
- The academic level of some qualifications may differ from country to country. A German kindergarten teacher education is at a tertiary vocational level, while in Norway it is a three-year bachelor’s degree. In Norway, beautician / skin care professional education is offered at an upper-secondary or tertiary vocational level, while in some countries it is possible to enroll in a bachelor’s degree in skin care. Engineering education can also be at a tertiary vocational level.
- In recent years we have seen an increase in educational documents issued by bogus? universities and diploma mills. Fake universities are institutions that are not officially accredited/recognized as institutions of higher education. However, they issue diplomas for educational qualifications in exchange for payment, setting minimal requirements on academic achievement. In the most extreme cases, the party will set no requirements to the applicant beyond payment for the service. Others may require an extended CV and possibly a minor essay on a random subject.
- From time to time, we also see fake documentation.
- Persons who apply to NOKUT (a public authority) for general recognition, based on fake documents or a diploma/documentation from a fake university, will be reported to the police for document forgery/perjury.