In South Africa and Africa as a whole – demand has continued to grow over the past five years, with a 14% increase in business screening solutions during this period. This highlights the importance of conducting comprehensive pre-employment and post-employment screenings.
This is according to the Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE) annual background screening report – summarizing the findings from the organization’s screening services conducted over the past year – which was released on 30 January 2017.
Ina van der Merwe, Director and CEO of MEE, said, “What has always been – and always will be – essential to business success is hiring people with the right skills, qualifications and experience for a given position. Failure to do so may cause serious financial and reputational damage to the organization.
Driven by high demand from businesses across industries, MIE carried out a total of 561,346 qualifications in 2016 – an increase of 17% compared to 2015.
MIE eligibility checks are conducted through the National Qualification Register (NQR), which has over 3.8 million graduate records and 25 subscribing tertiary institutions.
Van der Merwe says: “In general, cross-border qualifications from African and international institutions are misinformed, fraudulent or inconsistent, as candidates believe that foreign qualifications are not or cannot be verified. They are increasing from 40% in 2015 to 42% in 2016.
Criminal records
In terms of criminal record checks, van der Merwe said MIE completed 741,560 checks of which 10% of candidates had a criminal record. A more concerning statistic is that of the 10% of candidates with a criminal record – 48,167 candidates did not disclose their criminal history on their application.
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“In addition, we noticed that the manufacturing and mining industries are more at risk, as these sectors recorded the highest number of candidates with a criminal history between 18% and 20%.”
When verifying candidates’ criminal records, all captured fingerprints are checked electronically against the South African Police Service (SAPS) database using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). “There are no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ when it comes to the accuracy of this process. If you notice information about a criminal offense – we know about it,” she said.
Loan confirmations
Van der Merwe says: “The demand for candidate credit checks has increased in recent years due to the amendment of the National Credit Act (NCA) in 2015. He had a bad credit history.
Considering this statistic, individuals who are qualified to work in the financial industry, cash or finance, may not be suitable to do so due to a poor credit record.
MEE forecasts growth in demand for background screening services on the African continent, as well as increased awareness and awareness of services to identify suitable suppliers and combat procurement fraud.
“It’s important to include candidates and suppliers in your corporate strategic plan by being prepared with the various smart screening solutions available to companies, and partnering with a reputable background screening company to achieve these goals,” concludes van der Merwe.
