Business
Become Job-Ready With a National Criminal History Check
Today’s employment landscape is tighter than ever before. Employers want to make sure that they hire the best talent for their organization. Why? All other things being equal, a company’s success is positively correlated to the quality of its employees. Of the series of background checks employers carry out to determine the suitability of a candidate, national police checks are the most prevalent, as over 86% of employers seek the criminal history of potential hires.
From an applicant’s perspective, why wait until an employer decides to carry out a background check? The post explores how applicants can carry out national police checks themselves to better equip them for getting their dream role.
Are there jobs that require applicants to submit background checks themselves?
A quick analysis of Joro, an Australian job listing platform, revealed that about 6% of jobs required job seekers to provide criminal checks themselves. A breakdown by specific industry (top 3) is summarized below:
- Community Services & Development (~30%)
- Healthcare & Medical (~17%)
- Government & Defence (~12%)
As a concrete example, before a person can apply for nurse placement in Australia, he or she must have done a national criminal clearance. This is especially important if the employee will have access to vulnerable persons or will be working with children in Australia. Failure to do so will jeopardize that opportunity. Generally speaking, what this means is that for specific job roles, job seekers are required to submit their national criminal history clearance as part of the application process.
What about applicants not required to submit their national police check?
More often than not, employers will rather carry out criminal history checks themselves, rather than have applicants submit it for many reasons. However, the most important being to minimize the instances of fraud. They want to be certain that the police report they’re evaluating is an accurate representation of the candidates.
But this doesn’t mean job seekers should just sit down and relax, while they await the result of the criminal history check from the employer. That’s why being proactive is key. To the job-ready, applicants should carry out background checks on themselves for two major reasons:
- Correct Misinformation
There is the possibility that things can go wrong when you request a national police check. The report may contain a crime you were never convicted of or a crime you never committed. This typically happens when there are minor mixups. An applicant that does national police check on him/herself can spot these errors and have them expunged from their record. Losing a job opportunity based on an offense you never committed will be avoided.
- Apply for Eligible Job Roles
Certain jobs require that applicants have a clean criminal record. A common example includes jobs that require working with vulnerable groups like children or the elderly. Having a criminal record drastically reduces the chance of employment. If a job seeker does a criminal history check on him/herself, it will help identify jobs that they are ineligible for. That way, they can focus their energy on jobs that they stand a chance of getting.
- Be Better Prepared
Furthermore, if an applicant has a criminal record that’s relevant to the particular role they’re applying for, at the very least, an explanation will be required from the employer. By doing a national police check beforehand, applicants can be better prepared to answer questions that may come up about their criminal past.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.