Zug, Switzerland – November 15, 2023 – Appruvr, a platform that automates the qualification verification process for employers and candidates, announced the integration of Dock’s Verifiable Credential technology. Using Verifiable Credentials, Appruvr makes it easy for organizations to verify credentials instantly without contacting the issuing party or checking physical documents while enabling individuals to control their own data. 

A Verifiable Credential is a fraud-proof digital document that proves something about an individual or entity, such as someone’s identity or qualification. Verifiable Credentials are instantly verifiable and enable users to present information in a privacy-preserving way. 

Problems: Credential Fraud and Unnecessarily Long Verification Processes

Delaney Millward, Founder of Apprurvr, started the company because he had first-hand experience of seeing how many job applicants embellished their credentials. He relied on websites including LinkedIn and recruitment agencies but found many people didn’t fit what they were looking for. 

The problem with the traditional recruitment processes is that the information relies solely on what candidates claim they are qualified for. This experience started his journey to find a solution where an organization could quickly and efficiently verify the credentials. At the time, the solution didn’t exist.

Credential fraud is a huge global problem: 

  • 83% of employers believe their hires have lied about qualifications
  • 1 in 5 employers admit to not verifying graduate qualifications
  • 47% of job applicants admit to inflating grades
  • Fake diplomas and degrees make 7 billion dollars a year worldwide
  • Credential fraud costs UK businesses £23 billion pounds every year

Credential fraud has financial consequences and affects public safety, particularly when fraudsters work in high-stakes jobs like surgeons, nurses, or construction workers. Many people around the world have died or been injured by unqualified people working in jobs that they got as a result of fake credentials. 

Credential verification is still generally slow, complex and expensive. To illustrate, even the fastest verification times are approximately 3.8 days, which is cumbersome when we consider the speed of the job market in many sectors. Employers don’t have the capacity to verify all of these credentials, particularly when they need to hire many people in a short period of time.  

Appruvr is at the forefront of harnessing verifiable credential technology to solve credential fraud issues and give organizations the solutions to make credential verification easier and faster.

How Dock's Technology Enables Appruvr to Fast-Track the Credential Verification Process

When Appruvr was building their solution and researching Verifiable Credential providers, they felt that Dock could meet their technological needs and shared the same goals of empowering both organizations and individuals with tools to make the journey from education to employment more seamless and efficient.

These are some of the key benefits of Verifiable Credentials in the education and workforce sectors: 

  • Employers can hire candidates faster because they can check the authenticity of credentials instantly. 
  • Organizations can verify credentials without storing that data because individuals hold and control the data on their mobile identity wallet app.
  • Graduates can conveniently and efficiently prove their credentials in a way that preserves their privacy without relying on a third party.
  • Job applicants can prove their credentials anywhere in the world at any time in an era where remote and gig work is growing.

By integrating Dock’s Verifiable Credentials Platform, Appruvr seamlessly transforms education and workforce credentials into fraud-proof and instantly Verifiable Credentials. Verifiable Credentials leverage cutting-edge cryptography, ensuring strong data integrity and protection against tampering.

“Dock’s partnership with Appruvr will lead the way in introducing new and innovative technology that will have significant benefits for the background screening industry, and support the drive towards true digital hiring whilst removing the pain felt by all who utilize current screening methods. We are very excited through this partnership to bring verifiable digital credentials to the mainstream, creating an ecosystem where individuals are back in control of their data and employers can verify a candidate's credentials in a matter of moments.” said Delaney Millward, Appruvr’s CEO.

"Our collaboration with Appruvr is more than just a technology partnership; it's a shared vision to transform how credentials are verified and combat pervasive credential fraud. We're uniting our strengths to make credential verification seamless and secure by providing organizations with the tools to verify credentials instantly while placing data control back into the hands of individuals," said Nick Lambert, Dock's CEO.  

About Appruvr

Appruvr simplifies credential sharing between learning providers, candidates, and employers. Using blockchain technology, the verification is not only quick, the results are 100% reliable and secure. Appruvr's solution has been specifically designed to improve the recruitment journey for employers, institutions and candidates. Bringing qualification checks into the 21st century to stop recruitment fraud and the reliance on outdated and inefficient processes.

About Dock

Dock’s Verifiable Credential platform makes any data fraud-proof and instantly verifiable. It comprises the Certs API, the Certs no-code web app, an ID wallet and a dedicated blockchain. Using Dock, organizations reduce data verification costs while increasing the operational efficiency of verifying and issuing digital credentials. Individuals can fully control their data to access products and services more conveniently in a privacy-preserving way. Dock has been a leader in decentralized digital identity technology since 2017 and trusted by organizations in diverse sectors, including healthcare, finance, and education.