QR codes help verify trade qualification certificates

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce is adding QR codes to trade qualification certificates so employers can check whether they are genuine, ORF reports. The move follows a rise in company inquiries about certificates and suspected cases of forgery.

Since July, QR codes have been printed on certificates for apprenticeship-leaving, master crafts and proficiency exams in Vienna. The verification system is now being used across Austria for all certificates from those exams.

To check a certificate, users scan its QR code with a mobile device and enter the first and last name shown on the document. The tool compares the details with encrypted digital data linked to the code. If they match, the certificate is genuine.

The examination offices of Austria’s chambers of commerce developed the tool. Davor Sertic, the Vienna chamber’s education officer, said it would allow graduates to prove their qualifications and give employers confidence that certificates are authentic.

The Vienna chamber issues about 10,000 certificates each year for successful apprenticeship-leaving exams, as well as certificates for master crafts and proficiency exams. Inquiries from companies and public authorities about their authenticity have risen, along with suspected forgery cases. Forging a certificate is a criminal offence and can be reported to the police.