Applicants flunk basic skills testing
By John Burke • Bankrate.com

Small-business owners in the hiring market, beware! Chances are that more than a third of your applicants will lack the basic skills necessary to do the job, according to an annual survey by the American Management Association.

The AMA defines basic skills as functional workplace literacy: " ... the ability to read instructions, write reports, and/or do arithmetic at a level adequate to perform common workplace tasks."

The association's 2001 survey found that 34.1 percent of job applicants last year flunked pre-employment reading and math exams. That is fractionally better than in previous years. In 1999, 38.3 percent of those tested failed, while 35.5 percent of job seekers failed in 1998. But the latest numbers remain high enough to give human resource managers pause.

Overall, survey participants reported that they are conducting fewer basic skills tests of applicants than in previous years. Those who do are slightly more likely to test applicants' math skills (38 percent) than their reading skills (35 percent). Word processing, spreadsheet and database management testing is down over previous years.

Failure rate varies by industry
Wholesale and retail industries reported the least problem in finding workers with basic job skills. These businesses reported testing applicants 31 percent of the time, with only 22 percent of potential employees found deficient.

Manufacturers reported the highest deficiency rate, 37.7 percent. These companies also tested applicants more frequently, 44 percent of the time.

The financial sector, business and professional services and "other" industries all reported basic skill deficiencies among job applicants in the 32-to-35-percent range.

More precise testing slips, too
Despite the need to hire qualified workers, the AMA found companies are also foregoing the more-precise job skills measurement.

Job-skills testing, according to the AMA, focuses on the competencies necessary to perform specific tasks. Here, overall testing slipped fractionally, from 69.4 percent last year to 67.6 percent in the 2001 survey. When these tests are conducted, they are mostly limited to selected job categories.

The drop in overall skills testing -- basic and specific -- comes as the labor market remains tight. This small labor pool is perhaps one of the reasons that job applicant testing is down from previous years, even though the AMA notes that "new technologies have raised the bar in terms of necessary skills for many jobs."

Dealing with deficiencies
Of companies that do test prospective workers, the AMA found that 85 percent don't hire skills-deficient applicants.

Nearly 7 percent of firms report hiring skills-deficient applicants and offering remedial training. Eight percent offer alternatives such as retesting at a later date.

Do you have specialized job needs? Have you encountered difficulty in finding workers able to do these jobs? Do you test applicants for math and reading skills? Do you have or would you consider a remedial training program to bring an applicant up to speed for a position?

-- Posted: July 25, 2001