Glossary

Skills Assessment

What is a Skill Assessment? 

A skill assessment is a structured, formalized method for measuring an individual’s knowledge, competencies, and abilities in a specific area. Also known as a skills test or skill evaluation test, a skill assessment is most commonly used as part of the hiring process to both identify skills gaps and evaluate prospective candidates. An organization might also use an employee skills assessment to create employee training programs. 

Types of Skills Assessments

Broadly speaking, a workforce skills assessment test falls into one of the following categories: 

• Hard skills assessments measure quantifiable knowledge and skills such as data analysis, development knowledge, and computer proficiency. They typically take the form of a written exam, certification program, or questionnaire. 

• Soft skills assessments evaluate, among other things, how well a candidate communicates, collaborates, and manages their time. They include psychometric exams, performance evaluations, and questionnaires. 

• Cognitive ability assessments examine an employee’s problem-solving and reasoning capabilities along with their attention to detail, capacity to adapt, and ability to think strategically. They include hands-on simulations, gamified exams, and general aptitude tests. 

There are also industry-specific assessments such as licensing exams and test projects that assess an employee’s job-specific capabilities. They may appear in any of the formats listed above. 

Skill validation — the process by which an organization evaluates the full scope of an individual’s competencies — often incorporates multiple assessment types. A cybersecurity professional might take an exam to demonstrate their knowledge, manage a simulated ransomware attack, and complete a certification program from an accredited organization such as CompTIA. 

Benefits of Skill Assessment Tests

The workplace is evolving rapidly, and employees increasingly demand more of their employers. In this climate, effective skill assessments are more crucial than ever. 

The most significant benefit of performing regular skills assessments is that they help an organization identify and close internal skill gaps, either through hiring or additional training. This has the added benefit of enhancing the effectiveness of an organization’s training program. Designers and instructors will know precisely where to focus their efforts, ensuring better overall training outcomes. 

Assessments also provide an objective and standardized way to determine whether a candidate is suitable for a particular role. Applied properly, this can also reduce bias in the hiring process. Hiring managers can focus entirely on skills and proficiencies rather than demographic or educational factors. 

Lastly, skill assessments help employees identify targets and define objectives for their professional development. This has the potential to enhance not only job satisfaction and retention, but also productivity. It may even open the door to lateral hires — someone who works in accounting, for example, could potentially be a talented data scientist. 

How to Conduct a Skill Assessment

• Define your goals. Are you evaluating prospective candidates for an open position or do you want to identify skill gaps in your existing workforce?
  
• Identify key skills. What skills are most relevant to your goals? What skills does your organization need? Ideally, you’ll select a combination of hard, soft, and cognitive skills. 
• Create an assessment. Determine the most effective way to test for each of the key skills identified in step two, then develop a test or series of tests. Ensure both your criteria and time limit are realistic, and consider using specialized software to streamline the process. 
• Analyze your results. Regularly review your assessment to identify potential weaknesses and optimization opportunities. This review should be a combination of feedback from people who’ve taken the assessment, internal brainstorming, and analytics data. 
• Integrate assessments into your training. Use the insights gained from reviewing your assessment to develop new training content, resources, and programs for your employees.