UPSKILLING and reskilling are the watchwords of any productive organisation. In this context, introduction of skill verification tests in Bahrain would be a welcome step that would be appreciated by the stakeholders, particularly the employers and human resources specialists.
Should Bahrain start skill verification tests for people aspiring to take up jobs in the kingdom? Why or why not?
Traditionally, candidates are hired based on their academic qualifications and experience. During the interview, the panellists hardly have time or practical tools to assess the exact skill level of their prospective employees. In such a scenario, often candidates who are unskilled or semi-skilled are selected which affects the performance and output of the company.
Furthermore, there are a lot of gaps between what students’ study and what is expected out of them by the industry, which is known as the industry-academy divide. A number of candidates tend to have high academic degrees but are not equipped with the necessary skills required for the job.
Therefore, the most practical way of deciding on the employability of the candidates is conducting skill verification tests. If bench-marked skill verification tests are designed for specific jobs, the companies ensure that candidates are properly screened, thus saving their time of evaluating hundreds of candidates applying for the job.
Certain jobs are more skill-oriented than the others, for example, nursing. If a nurse has bachelor’s degree in nursing and has worked in a clinic for a few years but has not been equipped with the skill of administering injection, the employers have no means of assessing that without the skill verification test. Hiring poorly skilled pilots, nurses or doctors can endanger the lives of people. Therefore, skill verification tests could be introduced as a pilot project for some critical jobs.
Skilled employees contribute to the output of the organisation and an organisation with skilled employees directly contributes to the economic prosperity of the country.
Anthony Dsouza
