Skills Assessment Tests for Light Industrial Jobs

Light industrial jobs generally require less experience and training than other sectors, but skills assessment tests can be useful to successfully match applicants with the right employment opportunities.

Employers fulfilling light industrial staffing orders, especially those on the most demanding shifts, must pay close attention to details such as common sense problem-solving, ability to function with minimal supervision, and workplace attitudes towards issues such as punctuality, safety and drug use.

Skills assessment tests specifically for light industrial such as the Light Industrial Skills Test (LIST) can help part of a process, including in-depth interviews and reference checks, that can help employers build their team with the right candidates.

Skills Assessment Tests on the Rise Globally

Skills assessment tests, which allow organizations to analyze and evaluate current and prospective employee skills, qualifications, proficiencies, experiences and preferences, have been on the rise globally.

“Rise in need for efficiency and transparency in hiring process and surge in adoption of pre-employment screening tests positively impacts growth of the market,” said a report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. “In addition, increase in internet users boost growth of the [skills assessment tests] market across the globe.”

The report found that skills assessment tests can bolster pre-candidate screening and verify actual candidate skill qualifications, especially given the following:

• Up to 78 percent of candidate resumes are misleading
• 46 percent of candidate resumes contain actual lies.

“It helps employers check the truthfulness of resumes of candidates,” said the report authors. “In addition, it allows organizations to identify key areas for career development, growth and performance improvement and provide employees with a view of their skills related to their job role.”

Skills Needed in the Light Industrial Sector

Light industrial covers a wide range of jobs across a variety of industries with many opportunities found in warehouses across the supply chain.

Employment opportunities range include:

• Assemblers
• Bindery Workers
• Bottlers
• Conveyor Tenders
• Forklift Operators
• Inventory Clerks
• Material Handles
• Packers and Sorters
• Production Control
• Quality Control Specialists
• Shipping and Receiving Employees

While some light industrial jobs are based in skilled trade fields such as electrical and welding, and others can even call for advanced degrees, the typical opportunity in manufacturing and food processing does not require extensive experience and training.

Skills assessment tests, however, can still help employers find the right employees to increase productivity and efficiency.

What is the Light Industrial Skills Test (LIST)?

PSI, a global workforce testing company, says that the Light Industrial Skills Test (LIST) is “well-suited for assessing applicants who will be performing light industrial duties in manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and warehouse environments.”

The LIST, which features 80 multiple choice questions, can be completed by applicants in less than 25 minutes. It measures:

• Math and Reasoning
• Inspection
• Assembly
• Reliability
• Drug Use Attitudes

The total LIST score of an applicant, according to PSI, can help evaluate the ability “to solve “common sense” problems, visualize defects in assembled items, reliably report to work, function with minimal supervision, and be trusted to maintain a safe working environment.”

Another testing company, Creative Organizational Design, says that “this aptitude test helps you find employees who will be reliable, clear-headed, who will take responsibility for the quality of their work, and most important in a warehouse environment, employees who have a safe work ethic.”

For those that want more specific skills assessment tests targeted to their job function, there are a multitude of options that can apply to light industrial including:

• Basic Math Skills
• Count and Stack
• Fire and Personnel Safety
• Forklift Operator Skills
• General industrial skills
• Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Handling
• Industrial Mathematics
• Language Skills
• Machine Skills
• Metalworking
• Pick and Pack
• Risk Free (measures drug-free and non-violent attitudes, trustworthiness, reliability, and willingness to follow rules)
• Shipping and Receiving
• Shop Math
• Warehouse Worker Skills

“For manufacturing, warehousing, and other industrial markets, the skills shortage is well documented, and it shows no signs of slowing. While years ago, employees were seen as interchangeable, that is no longer the case. It is becoming increasingly important to shift traditional screening processes towards quantifiable measurements of candidates’ skills and aptitude,” says the talent assessment platform eSkill.

PRT Staffing -- with offices in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Illinois -- can help build your light industrial team with skilled temporary workers. Contact us today to find out how we can customize your search for staffing including in-depth interviews, reference checks, drug testing, and skill assessment tests.