How do you find skilled Plant Operators?

When companies look to hire Plant Operators, a key outcome that they’re looking for is operational performance. Certifications and qualifications may tick a few boxes, even working experience has value, but neither of those provide conclusive evidence that candidates have the skills needed to make an impact on operational performance.

For MRF’s and similar facilities, poor operational performance is costly. Experience has shown that even the most experience plant operators can lack H&S awareness, be poor communicators or decision makers, and be unable to assess risks accurately. So often we hear from companies that CV’s don’t tell them if candidates have the skills needed.

Our response? Ditch the CV! Yes you heard correctly, we’re saying that if a CV isn’t giving you the information you need on whether or not to hire a candidate, then there’s absolutely no point in wading through piles of them. Instead focus on finding skills. Skills that define success in a specific role.

We can say this with confidence because we assess candidates using our unique skills-based assessments. Here’s some insight on what this looks like for plant operators:

We test their level of Health and Safety awareness by working through scenarios, asking questions and recording their responses. We take a similar approach for determining their communication skills, ability to assess risks and make decisions, as well as how well they operate as part of a team.

The benefit of this approach is that as a company you get a shortlist of candidates who have proven they have the skills to do the job. This can reduce the risk in operations, maintain workflows, and ultimately improve operational performance of the facility.

To understand more about skills-based assessments and why Plant Operators need a very specific skill set, follow WasteRecruit on LinkedIn. We regularly share more specific skills-oriented insights, including the benefits to companies. Alternatively, simply give us a call on 01252 353 080. We’d be happy to share how we developed skills-based recruitment for Plant Operators and why it’s so successful.