“Fake” training academies promoting “professional development” with fake certificates

Academics and employment officials have warned of the spread of “fake” training centers and academies, bearing the names of foreign centers and universities specialized in providing training and qualification services to help individuals develop their careers, change their career path, and obtain experience certificates that open up a world of diverse job opportunities for them in the labor market. In various fields without the need for academic study, we call on students and employees not to be led by the advertisements of these centers and lose their money and time.

They said that such entities conclude memorandums of understanding with fake others, to defraud young graduates, and make them believe that they are large scientific academies, pointing out that there are victims of fake training centers who pay exaggerated amounts of money in exchange for obtaining certificates for these courses, thinking that they are issued by relevant academies. They have an international reputation and allow them to work, but in reality they are just fake academies on the Internet, which do not have the slightest training requirements.

Emirates Today monitored dozens of sponsored advertisements on social media sites promoting training courses from training institutes and academies, announcing the organization of training courses in which participants obtain certificates accredited by external parties, allowing them to work, the most famous of which are: behavioral psychology, public relations, media, and management. Business, legal translation, tourism, hotel management, leadership in education, marketing, human resources, supply chains, hospital management, quality management, and risk management, with certificates certified by European countries.

Under the title “Now start your professional journey with internationally accredited certificates that allow you to work in new fields,” sponsored advertisements have spread to promote courses granting those who obtain them what is called “an international arbitration advisor, a diplomatic relations advisor, a media and public relations advisor, and an expert in the media and the metaverse.” “And an expert in the development of care for intelligence, talent and creativity, a specialist in psychology and human behavioral sciences, and an expert in self-development and development.” These advertisements promote that this is done by obtaining a professional diploma by studying for a period of 100 days or for three days in person in one of the rented hotel halls, and that it will be granted Upon graduation, students receive an internationally accredited certificate equivalent to 250 academic hours.

Human resources

Human resources officials, Ahmed Abdel Nasser, Rayan Hafez, and Souad Al-Sahli, explained that the Internet and social networking sites are witnessing an increase in fraudulent operations, especially with regard to the non-recognition of the institutions of employees affiliated with these courses with certificates obtained from these institutes and academies. They unanimously agreed that a large number of training service providers rely on creating fake websites with the names of international centers and institutes, with the aim of attracting clients.

They said that these entities rely on publishing fake addresses, including mobile phone numbers belonging to some people and not institutions, so individuals interested in training and development must be careful and careful not to deal with advertisements for these institutions, especially those that provide online training, as a large number of These institutes and academies are based in foreign countries, and they grant certificates certified by unrecognized bodies.

Academics

While the academics, Muhammad Saadi, Mahmoud Murad, and Nabila Aouf, warned of institutes and academies spread on the Internet, as they are not based on sound scientific standards, and do not have credibility in what they claim by attracting international training cadres, providing a distinguished training product, and granting them certificates authenticated by authorities. International, pointing out that some of these entities establish a commercial company and give it a distinctive name through which they promote themselves as a global training academy. After individuals register for their courses, they discover that employers do not recognize the certificates issued by them, which is considered fraud, deception, and deception.

They said that these entities promote, through sponsored advertisements on social media sites, the organization of training courses in a specific period, and do not announce the location of the course until after collecting the largest number of subscriptions, then they rent a hotel hall, and organize lectures during which general information is presented by the speakers. With workshops that are not professional, and thus participants are given certificates at the end of the course stating that they have obtained a diploma called “the professional or practical diploma in the specialty.” Graduates of these courses are then surprised that this certificate is an unrecognized paper and does not allow its holder to practice this profession. .

New graduates

While the graduates, Muhammad Assem, Khaled Majed, Abdullah Al Hosani, Reem Safwat, Abeer Fathi, and Sarah Khaled, indicated that they obtained training courses and certificates that they discovered were not recognized, indicating that they got to know these academies through their advertisements on social networking sites, and after communicating with them. With her and registration, I organized training for them for a period ranging between three and five days in a hotel, and the training was completed online for a period ranging between three and nine months, depending on the type of course, after which they obtained certificates of completion of the specialty diploma. The cost of the training course ranged between 3,000 and 8,000 dirhams, in addition. Fees for accreditation and certification of certificates from higher education institutions in Arab and European countries.

Doctors

Two doctors, Mai Muhammad and Marwa Saad, indicated that they had registered for a training course in endoscopy under the supervision of an academy that bears a resonant foreign name, and refers to itself as specializing in training doctors at the level of the Middle East. The course was announced through “doctor groups” on websites. Social communication, and the training schedule included theoretical and practical lectures, under the supervision of consultants who were brought in from abroad, according to the announcement, which encouraged many doctors to participate in it, and when attending the course, which was organized in a hotel hall, they discovered with the rest of the doctors that the course was theoretical, and that the applied part It is very simple and nothing more than preliminary information that students study during their university years. The course supervisors are merely non-academic doctors with non-Arab nationalities, and the certificate is merely a piece of paper stating that the participants have taken a course in endoscopy, which cannot be relied upon.

Employees

The employees, Hamad Saleh, Maryam Ibrahim, and Najwa Hassan, attributed some people’s resort to training academies that advertise themselves on social media sites, and registering for their courses, to the requirements of some institutions for their employees to obtain promotion, such as: providing training and professional development certificates, which contributed to creating an environment These academies are fertile in attracting employees who wish to improve their job status, requiring employers to provide local training bodies or contract with credible, professional bodies in the field of specialization regionally or globally before they begin procedures for promotion, which allows employees to obtain real training and recognized certificates of experience.

Change career path

Job seekers have indicated that joining these institutes and academies comes from the desire of many to change their career path, either because the market does not need their current specialization, or because they have not had practical success in it, which prompts them to search for centers to train them in a new specialization, through which they can Obtaining a job, especially since these institutes and academies promote that these specializations in which they are trained are badly needed by the labor market, and the specializations that they advertise have attractive names, such as: Diploma in Behavioral Psychology, Diploma in Adult Care, Diploma in Nursery Specialist, and Diploma in Arbitration. International, and other specialties. They pointed out that many influencers on social media play a role in promoting these institutes through their pages and the advice they provide to their followers about the importance of the “career shift” or changing career path, which encourages some to search for any academy that grants them a certificate specializing in a new field. .

Academics:

Many online institutes and academies are not based on scientific standards, and lack the credibility of certificates and training personnel.

Human Resources Specialists:

Individuals interested in training and development must be careful and cautious when dealing with these advertisements through electronic platforms and social networking sites.