3 answers
Aya
Student
Birmingham
1
Question
Updated
986 views
I have a degree in MSc Medical Laboratory Sciences, Microbiology. Unfortunately my certificates are from abroad the uk. I can not get them attested as there is a war in the country of issuance. Can I get a related job or a paid apprenticeship in the UK?
I’m open to career change into non-clinical lab roles like quality assurance food/pharma.
Login to comment
3 answers
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1092
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Aya,
I am sorry you are going through such hard times. I hope your life is going to get better going forward.
You didn't indicate from which country you are, and I am not sure what your current situation is. Have you got your actual certificates with you? At least copies? Any evidence of classes/work you did at university? Contacts to your old department and professors who taught you and can vouch for you? Can your embassy help at all?
I would recommend that you contact organizations that assist displaced and at-risk scholars. They would be able to best advise you how to proceed and point you towards more resources. I left some links for you below.
Research funding organizations and individual universities in the UK also have programs that support refugees and displaced scholars.
You could also get in touch with the University of Birmingham to see if you can at least volunteer in a lab to get a bit of local experience under your belt and make contacts.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
https://www.cara.ngo/
https://www.scholarrescuefund.org/
https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/
https://www.raynefoundation.org.uk/apply-for-funding/refugees-and-asylum-seekers/
I am sorry you are going through such hard times. I hope your life is going to get better going forward.
You didn't indicate from which country you are, and I am not sure what your current situation is. Have you got your actual certificates with you? At least copies? Any evidence of classes/work you did at university? Contacts to your old department and professors who taught you and can vouch for you? Can your embassy help at all?
I would recommend that you contact organizations that assist displaced and at-risk scholars. They would be able to best advise you how to proceed and point you towards more resources. I left some links for you below.
Research funding organizations and individual universities in the UK also have programs that support refugees and displaced scholars.
You could also get in touch with the University of Birmingham to see if you can at least volunteer in a lab to get a bit of local experience under your belt and make contacts.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Karin recommends the following next steps:
Chinyere Okafor
Educationist and Counseling Psychologist
1205
Answers
Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
Updated
Chinyere’s Answer
Hi Aya,
I want to start by saying how sad I am that you are struggling with this. It feels extremely unfair to have your education questioned or denied due to a war, and it is not an indication of your professional worth or abilities. The good news is that, given your openness to non-clinical roles, you still have practical and achievable career options in the UK. Let's break this down in an easy and practical manner.
Formal clinical registration is the main obstacle to your employability in the UK, not your knowledge or abilities. Without authenticated certifications, positions requiring HCPC or NHS clinical registration will be challenging. However, attestation and registration are completely unnecessary for many business- and science-related positions. In these industries, employers place more emphasis on qualifications, experience, and employment eligibility than on the location of the certificate's issuance.
You are in a great position for non-clinical lab and science positions. Microbiology technician positions in the commercial sector, food safety, pharmaceutical production, quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and environmental testing are all good options. Candidates with foreign degrees often get hired by businesses in the food, beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and biotech sectors; UK registration is not necessary. Knowledge of GMP, HACCP, ISO standards, paperwork, audits, and lab safety protocols is what matters to them. Your degree becomes an anchor of credibility rather than a barrier if you can show those competencies.
Yes, paid apprenticeships and trainee positions are possible. In the UK, many different businesses provide:
- Laboratory Technician (Trainee)
- QA/QC Assistant
- Food Safety Officer (industry side)
- Microbiology Technician (private labs)
- Validation or Compliance Assistant roles
International grads and career switchers can often be eligible for these positions, which only require transcripts when available or evidence of degree completion rather than attested certificates. Even if you already have a higher degree, you can still seek Level 4–6 apprenticeships, particularly if you're switching sectors.
Here's how to quickly strengthen your position strategically:
- Target private industry, not NHS or regulated clinical labs.
- Reframe your MSc as a skills-based qualification on your CV. Lead with lab techniques, QA processes, and compliance exposure.
- Add short UK-recognised certifications if possible (e.g. GMP, HACCP Level 2 or 3, ISO 9001 basics). These are inexpensive and carry real hiring weight.
- Apply through recruitment agencies that specialize in science and manufacturing roles (this often bypasses rigid HR filters).
- Be transparent but concise about documentation issues. You don’t need to lead with the war context unless asked. Focus on what you can verify and deliver.
Regulatory affairs assistant, clinical data reviewer, scientific operations, technical documentation, or audit support are several related non-lab positions where your experience is highly transferable if you want to diversify even more. Formal registration is not as important in these positions as scientific literacy and attention to detail.
In summary, you are not stuck. You are still highly employable in the UK scientific ecosystem, even though you might need to change course from clinical paths. You can land a salaried position or an apprenticeship while gaining UK-based experience that will stabilize your career over time with a concentrated job search and some targeted upskilling.
Best wishes!
I want to start by saying how sad I am that you are struggling with this. It feels extremely unfair to have your education questioned or denied due to a war, and it is not an indication of your professional worth or abilities. The good news is that, given your openness to non-clinical roles, you still have practical and achievable career options in the UK. Let's break this down in an easy and practical manner.
Formal clinical registration is the main obstacle to your employability in the UK, not your knowledge or abilities. Without authenticated certifications, positions requiring HCPC or NHS clinical registration will be challenging. However, attestation and registration are completely unnecessary for many business- and science-related positions. In these industries, employers place more emphasis on qualifications, experience, and employment eligibility than on the location of the certificate's issuance.
You are in a great position for non-clinical lab and science positions. Microbiology technician positions in the commercial sector, food safety, pharmaceutical production, quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and environmental testing are all good options. Candidates with foreign degrees often get hired by businesses in the food, beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and biotech sectors; UK registration is not necessary. Knowledge of GMP, HACCP, ISO standards, paperwork, audits, and lab safety protocols is what matters to them. Your degree becomes an anchor of credibility rather than a barrier if you can show those competencies.
Yes, paid apprenticeships and trainee positions are possible. In the UK, many different businesses provide:
- Laboratory Technician (Trainee)
- QA/QC Assistant
- Food Safety Officer (industry side)
- Microbiology Technician (private labs)
- Validation or Compliance Assistant roles
International grads and career switchers can often be eligible for these positions, which only require transcripts when available or evidence of degree completion rather than attested certificates. Even if you already have a higher degree, you can still seek Level 4–6 apprenticeships, particularly if you're switching sectors.
Here's how to quickly strengthen your position strategically:
- Target private industry, not NHS or regulated clinical labs.
- Reframe your MSc as a skills-based qualification on your CV. Lead with lab techniques, QA processes, and compliance exposure.
- Add short UK-recognised certifications if possible (e.g. GMP, HACCP Level 2 or 3, ISO 9001 basics). These are inexpensive and carry real hiring weight.
- Apply through recruitment agencies that specialize in science and manufacturing roles (this often bypasses rigid HR filters).
- Be transparent but concise about documentation issues. You don’t need to lead with the war context unless asked. Focus on what you can verify and deliver.
Regulatory affairs assistant, clinical data reviewer, scientific operations, technical documentation, or audit support are several related non-lab positions where your experience is highly transferable if you want to diversify even more. Formal registration is not as important in these positions as scientific literacy and attention to detail.
In summary, you are not stuck. You are still highly employable in the UK scientific ecosystem, even though you might need to change course from clinical paths. You can land a salaried position or an apprenticeship while gaining UK-based experience that will stabilize your career over time with a concentrated job search and some targeted upskilling.
Best wishes!
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
245
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
That's a difficult situation. If your degree certificates cannot be appropriately verified, that will present a barrier for a lot of jobs, especially those that are connected with sensitive matters like patient safety.
However, the good news is that not every recruitment process and organisation is as thorough with employment checks, and you may find that some organisations just accept your certificates as-is without requiring them to be attested. A lot of the time, labs will be looking for technical competence first and foremost, and if you've demonstrated that through the recruitment and interview process, the certificates are just a formality to be logged on file, not something that is always checked in depth. Of course, still be aware that for some managers, a certificate from what may well be to them an "unknown" university (especially in a war-torn or developing country), is a potential warning to look a little closer than they might for well-known UK universities, as there have been a lot of fake qualifications and certificates arise from backgrounds like that - so some will ask for attested or legalized documents to ensure they're genuine - but it's not all organisations.
There is an element of prior experience in that - you don't mention whether you're coming straight from your studies to seek employment, or whether you've had related experience in the field whilst abroad. If you're coming from experience, a lot of organisations will be looking more at prior employment, experience, and potentially references (if you can supply them), as that will be of greater relevance than original certificates, so again may not check the certificates in quite as much depth.
Even if you're not coming from experience, there will be organisations that don't check as much as others. If you've encountered that issue in organisations like the NHS, try a more corporate lab in the supply chain or private healthcare. I don't have experience in medical labs, but I don't think there's any strict mention of attested documents in standards like ISO 15189 - it just talks about ensuring personnel are competent and appropriately qualified. They do need to keep records of competency and qualifications, so they likely need to have your certificates on file, but it doesn't necessarily mean they need to be attested.
Perhaps however the problem might come about from your necessary professional registration with bodies like the GMC or similar - if you need to be registered with them, and they're the ones needing attested certificates, that might well rule out medical labs. However, there are lots of medical-adjacent labs - you mention food - but there's also a lot of labs doing environmental testing and things like that, which don't necessarily require the same registration. These labs will often run on standards like ISO/IEC 17025 - which if you're familiar with ISO 15189 from medical labs, will seem very familiar, just a bit broader and without some of the patient-related clauses. My own first role out of university was in such a lab - and while my role was in radiation measurement, there were other parts of the business that were doing your sort of thing with microbiological testing - just as I was counting alpha particles, they counted biological colonies. I imagine that at least one of the many companies doing that kind of testing will be a bit more trusting and might not demand attested certificates.
Lab accreditation might even be a good way to search for companies to apply to - our national accreditation body UKAS have a facility on their website that can find labs that are accredited for different kinds of testing - maybe that could be something to try looking through related lab categories - https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/browse-by-category/?cat=1084
One final point - if you're finding it hard to get a "foot in the door" because of the degree certificates - many labs have roles that do not require degrees - these could be your route in, with a hope that once you're in an organisation, it may be easier to pivot into the more technical roles after a while. I know in many labs, some of the more routine work is undertaken by much less qualified people - just A-Levels, apprenticeships or sometimes just GCSEs will suffice for some roles - especially routine work like sample receipt and sample preparation, and technician roles like cleaning lab glassware.
However, the good news is that not every recruitment process and organisation is as thorough with employment checks, and you may find that some organisations just accept your certificates as-is without requiring them to be attested. A lot of the time, labs will be looking for technical competence first and foremost, and if you've demonstrated that through the recruitment and interview process, the certificates are just a formality to be logged on file, not something that is always checked in depth. Of course, still be aware that for some managers, a certificate from what may well be to them an "unknown" university (especially in a war-torn or developing country), is a potential warning to look a little closer than they might for well-known UK universities, as there have been a lot of fake qualifications and certificates arise from backgrounds like that - so some will ask for attested or legalized documents to ensure they're genuine - but it's not all organisations.
There is an element of prior experience in that - you don't mention whether you're coming straight from your studies to seek employment, or whether you've had related experience in the field whilst abroad. If you're coming from experience, a lot of organisations will be looking more at prior employment, experience, and potentially references (if you can supply them), as that will be of greater relevance than original certificates, so again may not check the certificates in quite as much depth.
Even if you're not coming from experience, there will be organisations that don't check as much as others. If you've encountered that issue in organisations like the NHS, try a more corporate lab in the supply chain or private healthcare. I don't have experience in medical labs, but I don't think there's any strict mention of attested documents in standards like ISO 15189 - it just talks about ensuring personnel are competent and appropriately qualified. They do need to keep records of competency and qualifications, so they likely need to have your certificates on file, but it doesn't necessarily mean they need to be attested.
Perhaps however the problem might come about from your necessary professional registration with bodies like the GMC or similar - if you need to be registered with them, and they're the ones needing attested certificates, that might well rule out medical labs. However, there are lots of medical-adjacent labs - you mention food - but there's also a lot of labs doing environmental testing and things like that, which don't necessarily require the same registration. These labs will often run on standards like ISO/IEC 17025 - which if you're familiar with ISO 15189 from medical labs, will seem very familiar, just a bit broader and without some of the patient-related clauses. My own first role out of university was in such a lab - and while my role was in radiation measurement, there were other parts of the business that were doing your sort of thing with microbiological testing - just as I was counting alpha particles, they counted biological colonies. I imagine that at least one of the many companies doing that kind of testing will be a bit more trusting and might not demand attested certificates.
Lab accreditation might even be a good way to search for companies to apply to - our national accreditation body UKAS have a facility on their website that can find labs that are accredited for different kinds of testing - maybe that could be something to try looking through related lab categories - https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/browse-by-category/?cat=1084
One final point - if you're finding it hard to get a "foot in the door" because of the degree certificates - many labs have roles that do not require degrees - these could be your route in, with a hope that once you're in an organisation, it may be easier to pivot into the more technical roles after a while. I know in many labs, some of the more routine work is undertaken by much less qualified people - just A-Levels, apprenticeships or sometimes just GCSEs will suffice for some roles - especially routine work like sample receipt and sample preparation, and technician roles like cleaning lab glassware.