WaterSafe has pledged its full support to helping cut confusion within the current curriculum, after recent research by City & Guilds discovered that a high number of employees do not understand today’s qualifications.

The robust study looked at more than 1,000 SMEs and large companies in relation to their responses to CVs and knowledge on the current curricular. Fifty-seven percent of employers stated that they found acronyms on CVs to be confusing and 64% admitted they have had to look up abbreviated qualifications on the internet to discover their meaning.

Meanwhile, 95% of employers were unable to identify which was the most advanced qualification from a list of acronyms.

Following the research, City & Guilds has created an online 'Education Jargon Buster' in a bid to lift confusion around qualification abbreviations and help employers to understand the level of each qualification and to be better informed when next recruiting.

Julie Spinks, director of WaterSafe, said: "While it is very concerning to see many of today's employers are confused regarding qualifications and what they mean, it isn't surprising given the abundance of courses and qualifications within the trade sector alone. It is therefore great to see that City & Guilds are seeking to address the issue with their 'Education Jargon Buster', among other initiatives.

"In a similar vein, WaterSafe has been specifically designed to make entry to our scheme as simple and clear as possible. If an employer with suitable insurance takes on a plumber with an NVQ Level 2 in Mechanical Engineer Services (plumbing), and the individual also has a Water Fittings Regulations qualification, the prospective employee will, in most cases, be eligible for WaterSafe membership.

“In effect, looking for these entry requirements helps simplify the selection process for a company employing a plumber and, in turn, it's easier for customers to find them once listed as WaterSafe acts as a hub for qualified, recognised plumbers."

The Education Jargon Buster from City & Guilds can be found at TechBac.com, where there is a list of the most commonly misunderstood education abbreviations.