Manufacturing Recruiting: How to Measure Hard Skills for Better Hires

Candidates who can promptly respond to interview questions and exhibit strong interpersonal skills are certainly appealing during the hiring process. But being a strong interviewee does not guarantee that a candidate will perform their job according to expectations.

This disconnect is especially true when you are seeking candidates to fill roles within the manufacturing industry.

Incorporate aptitude tests into your hiring process if you want to ensure that a prospective candidate has the skills required for manufacturing industry work. These tests measure hard skills and help you select the most appropriate candidates for your position, a quality we call Job Fit.

Here, we will review some of the most important skills for manufacturing candidates, and also highlight the benefits of using industry-specific testing to identify top candidates.

What Are Hard Skills?

Hard skills are “learned abilities acquired and enhanced through practice, repetition, and education.”

Testing for hard skills is vital to your hiring process. Employees with top manufacturing skills will perform their jobs more efficiently. They will also be more productive overall, which can positively impact the morale of other staff members.

Without skills testing, you only have a few ways to assess a candidate’s hard skills, like reviewing degrees, work experience, and training certificates.

These forms of “proof” do not guarantee that an individual possesses hard skills. They only demonstrate that the candidate met minimum certification criteria at some point during their professional career.

Skills tests allow your team to ensure that the individual can fulfill the core responsibilities of the position they are applying for right now.

Skills Required for the Manufacturing Industry

In addition to manufacturing knowledge, there are several other skills that the best candidates will possess. Here are some of these top manufacturing skills that you should examine during your hiring process.

• Attention to Detail: Perhaps the most important skill that every manufacturer needs is attention to detail. Employees who lack this hard skill can be a detriment to your organization.

Employees who lack focus are more prone to workplace accidents. They will not be as productive as they should be. They can even cause other staff members to be tasked with extra responsibilities to pick up the slack.

• Critical Thinking Skills: In addition, engineers and other manufacturing staff members must possess strong critical thinking skills. They should be able to solve routine equipment problems on the fly and keep your facility running at optimal levels. Candidates cannot demonstrate critical thinking skills by presenting a certificate or citing past work experience. To identify this skill, you will need to implement skills tests.
• Communication Skills: Another vital skill for manufacturing hires is the ability to communicate. Candidates with strong communication skills will be able to seamlessly integrate with your existing staff. They will be able to build good working relationships and relay vital information promptly.
• Learn New Skills: Manufacturing candidates should also possess the ability to be cross-trained. This trait will allow you to mold new hires and give them the tools necessary to seek upward mobility.

Hiring employees with the potential to stay with your company long term is more important than ever. According to a study by SHRM, internal hiring increased by a staggering 20% since the start of the pandemic. If you want to retain and train your employees well, it all starts with skills testing.

Using an Aptitude Test for Manufacturing Jobs

Implementing skills tests to identify valuable hard skills can provide many benefits to your organization. The most apparent advantage to testing for hard skills is that it allows you to eliminate unqualified candidates right away.

If an applicant has glaring weaknesses in their skill set or abilities, skills tests will demonstrate this shortcoming immediately. This screening allows your hiring team to focus their energies on the most qualified candidates.

In addition, aptitude tests for manufacturing jobs reduce turnover rates. With these tests, you can minimize the chances of hiring an underqualified candidate because every applicant will be more thoroughly screened before hiring.

With the cost of hiring a single person averaging thousands of dollars, choosing the wrong candidates can drastically impact your organization’s profitability.

Aptitude tests even have a positive effect on the morale of your existing staff. Every candidate that you hire will be properly vetted and uniquely qualified for the position. They will be able to adequately carry out the responsibilities of their new role, thereby limiting friction with current employees.

Identify Candidates with the Top Manufacturing Skills Through eSkill’s Aptitude Testing

If you want to improve your hiring process by measuring hard skills in prospective candidates, eSkill can help. Our database includes hundreds of assessments, including an aptitude test for manufacturing jobs.

We also offer various other skills tests that are useful for assessing candidates. Some of these tests include:

• Logical Thinking
• Spatial Reasoning
• Attention to Detail
• Manufacturing Engineering

Ready to learn how to recruit candidates with top manufacturing skills? Request a demo today.