Sounds about right, doesn't it? But wait a minute, there's something missing, what could it be? Spelling ability? No, that isn't important for an Apprenticeship. Oh, that's it, there's no mention of skills in CV-manipulation. Nor an ability to turn four months into two years.

Step up Lee McQueen, Apprentice contestant, time traveller and alleged university graduate. Tut tut tut. What a naughty boy.

I have to be honest, Lee wouldn't have got past the very first stage in my company recruitment process. Did you see the spelling and grammar on his CV ("tommorrow", "ambtion" and "recoinged" just for starters)? Interview him? I think not. Appalling. But worse, much worse, was his dishonesty.

Lying on his CV about the dates he attended university was bad enough, but when caught out by Sir Alan's Viglen chief executive Bordan Tkachuk, he blatantly lied again and failed to apologise when backed so far into a corner his backside must have been positively triangular.

Surely BBC researchers would have checked the facts when Lee applied to take part? Or did they already know and allow him through, knowing it would all come tumbling out in the end to make for great Wednesday night viewing?

Either way, he's apparently not the only potential job candidate with a penchant for massaging the facts. As one of the panellists said on the spin-off You're Fired programme, "We all do it," especially, he insisted, men who tend to put reading and travelling in the hobbies section rather than the more truthful self-abuse and television.

He's right. Not necessarily about the hobbies – I can't speak for you blokes – but I've discovered it is a rather sad fact that more than 50% of CVs submitted for job applications contain inaccuracies. Significant lies such as discrepancies in employment and academic dates, fictitious professional qualifications, omitting court decrees and undeclared directorships have all been identified. And, according to the company behind this most recent research, CV discrepancies are not only on the increase, but becoming more serious.

In 2007, the number of candidates submitting multiple lies increased, with those in the 36-40 year age group being the worst offenders. In this age range, 62.9% of CVs screened contained at least one discrepancy, an increase of more than 10% on 2006. The number of cases having three or more discrepancies also increased by 9% over the survey results for 2006.

Employee screening specialists the Risk Advisory Group carried out this study into more than 3,800 CVs submitted by job applicants in 2007. Sal Remtulla, head of employee screening, is planning a similar exercise for 2008 and, clearly, there is little doubt that this situation can only get worse as the job market heats up and competition for the best jobs gets tougher.

Remtulla's office was buzzing on Thursday morning after McQueen's spectacular fall from grace. Researchers couldn't believe it. According to Remtulla, many of the discrepancies uncovered are simple errors of omission, but a significant number will be something more serious, such as criminal convictions or even fraud against previous employers, often covered up by manipulating dates spent in education or previous employment.

One case uncovered by the group's screening process revealed that a candidate – who had applied for a very senior legal role – had a County Court Judgment registered against his name and academic checks revealed he had not only been struck off the Roll of Solicitors for a "shortage" on a client account of more than £650,000, but had served a prison term for it and then covered the career gap by claiming he had attended university during that period.

Obviously not all lies are quite as dramatic. Backgroundchecking.com, an online firm established to take up references and check candidates are being honest with potential employers, sampled more than 1000 people last year. Their research shows that likely types of CV fraud include salary (23%), level of previous experience (14%) and educational qualifications (13%), followed by dates of employment (10%) and job title (9%).

It also flagged up an interesting difference between the sexes, with 43% of men admitting they would falsify their CV if they thought they could get away with it, and 64% of the female respondents saying they would not.

Indeed, 79% of those questioned thought employers should do more background checking of the details on CVs and job application forms. I would have thought it much easier just to tell the truth.

So how do you mitigate the risk of employing someone who isn't entirely who he or she says they are? Experts advise that you take up all references, perhaps ask candidates to sign a written declaration to confirm the truth of their application, ask them to bring proof of their academic qualifications and a copy of a recent pay slip. You could also have an 'off the record' chat with previous employers, who might provide greater detail over the phone than they would in writing.

Ultimately, lying on a CV can be criminal conduct and has been found to amount to the offence of obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception.

Which brings us back to McQueen and his future with – or outwith – Sir Alan's company. It takes two to lie, according to Homer Simpson; one to lie and one to listen. Lee has done the lying and it's now up to Sir Alan to listen. Can he be seen to condone such behaviour? Just imagine the furore if he does. Roll on Wednesday for the next instalment.