As the rate of technical change intensifies, the challenge to keep the skills of employees relevant for an organisation to stay competitive accelerates too.
So how do companies or organisations ensure their employees have the skills to achieve the goals?
Dr Andrew E. Ivang from the Department of Clinical Biology – Huye campus, University of Rwanda, believes that the answer lies in identifying the gaps and improving skills of existing employees.
Ivang says a skills assessment can help organisations identify inactive workers.
"A skills assessment provides an additional angle to someone’s suitability. It is not only used at an entry-level to ensure graduates are job-ready and the right fit, but increasingly, used in the recruitment of middle and senior management roles,” he says.
The lecturer points out that a skills assessment also allows employers to conduct a full valuation covering qualifications, skills, leadership and any other areas they wish to evaluate depending on what suits their organisations.
Benefits
Alphonse Uworwabayeho, a lecturer of mathematics at University of Rwanda’s College of Education, says in today’s rapidly evolving world, employers need to drive skill-building to not only sustain their organisation’s competitive advantage, but help employees understand their options to upskill no matter the age or career stage.
He says that conducting a skills assessment can be the first step to understanding what kind of training, learning, or development initiatives are required in the organisation.
"Organisations are utilising skills and personality assessments to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps within their workforce as well as aid succession planning,” he says.
Uworwabayeho adds that skill assessment helps to measure where employees’ skills are at present, and gain an understanding of further training required, or diversification of skill sets into other areas.
Alternatively, Uworwabayeho says, when organisations restructure, assessments can help identify where they may be heavy in one skill set and light in others.
He further explains that when organisations are hiring, developing, or promoting employees for new positions in their companies, resumes and interviews can help with this.
He says that a person’s education, experience, and references all provide indicators on what they know and have done. But, the best way to understand one’s abilities and level of proficiency is to conduct a skills assessment.
Aminadhad Niyonshuti, an English teacher in Kigali, says skills assessment narrows down the list of candidates to interview, or decide on for an open position.
He explains that a skills assessment test can be used to evaluate the performance of current employees, to help settle that they are strengthening essential skills as they build experience.
Niyonshuti says assessment can also contribute to learning development. He explains that as employees progress along the learning path, assessment is a simple, objective checkpoint to ensure that the learning is effective.
It’s important to note that skills constantly evolve, therefore, there is a need to implement more.
"This can be from effectively participating in meetings to adopting new methods of learning, or doing other up-to-date activities needed in today’s world,” he says.
Niyonshuti says that a skills assessment can test whether employees have mastered new, essential services before they are cleared for the work.
What to put into consideration
Uworwabayeho says it helps to avoid bias, especially in the hiring process.
"The more weight given to skills assessment, is less for things like age, gender, previous employer, education, and other factors that can inadvertently sway a hiring manager,” Uworwabayeho says.
"Just because someone isn’t fully skilled doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get the job or promotion. A skills assessment is extremely helpful in pinpointing exactly the areas where someone needs to grow, making it easier to develop a relevant, personalised learning and development plan,” he says.
Experts say that whether monitoring the development of individuals or teams, regular skills assessments can confirm progress – or identify areas where the training and support isn’t enough.
Also, they note that nurturing employees’ growth is a win-win situation — it keeps them engaged and allows them to develop new skill sets that will make them stronger.
"Evaluation is all about employee growth, because supporting and recognising their progress keeps employees engaged,” says Niyonshuti.