CSWIP Insight: How your certificates are processed

We are often asked how long it will take for a certificate to be received, and so we thought it would be a great idea to give you an inside look at how your certificates are processed. It is not quite as simple as just hitting ‘print’.

The process starts when we receive the enrolment form and results notice from the Examination Body. One of our highly trained Certification Officers must check that the candidate has met all the certification requirements.

• Confirm which of the pre-entry requirements the candidate has identified as meeting.
• Review the description of experience. What are the duties the candidate has undertaken? Do these meet the requirements? Have they been carried out for the required amount of time?
• Check the status of the verifier of the experience. Are they appropriately positioned to confirm the technical content and validity of the information provided? Are they a suitable verifier e.g. not a family member, a person in a supervisory position? Have they provided a company email address? 
• If there is any doubt regarding the candidates work experience, verification checks will be carried out, which include contacting the verifier. 
• If a candidate claims to have held a certificate for an amount of time, this needs to be checked and confirmed with the awarding body.
• Check that due process has been followed by the examination body. 
• Check to ensure that the candidate has signed under the declaration to confirm they understand the rules associated with their certification as well as their obligations under the Code of Conduct. 
• Check (where applicable) that a recent eye sight test has been submitted to meet the requirements as outlined in the scheme document.
• Confirm what language the exam was sat in (if taken in a language other than English, a translation clause is added to the certificate)

We then check that the candidate’s details have been entered correctly on our system and match what is on the enrolment form. While this includes the obvious checks – name, address, and date of birth – it also includes some things that you might not expect:

• Making sure the candidates photo is up to date, (photos must be current so that when the ID card is shown it is an accurate representation of the person named on the certificate)
• Determining if the candidate is self-sponsored or sponsored (if they are sponsored, their certificates and ID badge will be sent to the sponsor),

Once satisfied that the enrolment form checks are complete, the Certification Officer can move on to processing the certificate. Before printing the certificate, the candidate details (as mentioned above) are checked again, followed by the Certificate Title, Version of the Scheme Document, Issue Date, Expiry Date, and Groups or Categories. 

It is worth noting that TWI Cert offers over 30 different levels of certification in more than 15 different certification schemes, each with their own unique requirements! 

If a discrepancy is encountered at any point in the process, TWI Cert must investigate before a certificate can be issued. This can involve anything from speaking with the training provider or Examinations Body, requesting additional documentation, or contacting the candidate. To help us process your certificates as quickly as possible, please ensure that your details are accurate and the same across all paperwork to help avoid delays!

So as you can see, processing certificates is definitely not as easy as just hitting ‘print’. It is a complex process requiring in-depth checks carried out by highly trained Certification Officers, thus ensuring that the certification you have attained remains a reliable, credible, and integral source of competence assurance.