Merle Andersen is the MYSKILLS coordinator at TERTIA, a labour market service provider that offers training and retraining, job placement and recruitment. She told us why, how and with what results MYSKILLS is used in the company.
Why do you use MYSKILLS in your organisation?
As a labour market service provider, we help people find work or training. We work according to our own approach, the ABC method. ABC means our core competences: work, education and coaching. We use the ABC method to support the holistic integration process. For example: We may find that someone who has participated in a tendering process still lacks a specific qualification to re-enter the labour market. We can then offer the person a suitable internal programme ourselves. In other words, they will go directly from participating in our tendering programme to training in our company. A key component of the ABC method is diagnosis. Without knowing what the person can do or what previous experience they have, it is difficult to make a sensible support recommendation or plan the next support steps. This is why we use MYSKILLS: it is a great and unique tool for visualising vocational skills. The results are used to make recommendations for training or job search. MYSKILLS strengthens our diagnostic expertise and helps us to better plan the next steps to support people. This would not be possible without MYSKILLS. Then we would have to send our clients directly to the employer for a trial period. Unfortunately, this is not always useful as we are dependent on the companies and their statements. In addition, the willingness to cooperate is not always optimal. MYSKILLS can therefore fill a very good diagnostic gap. And it is great that the MYSKILLS test is available in twelve languages. We have a very high proportion of participants with an immigrant background and most of the required languages are covered.
Who do you use MYSKILLS for?
Our main target group is referred by the Job Centre and the Employment Agency. Enquiries from people who have found out about MYSKILLS on our website are an exception. We use MYSKILLS as part of the concept for immigrants with little knowledge of German or for the long-term unemployed. MYSKILLS can be used to visualise vocational skills on which further support services can be based.
When is the MYSKILLS test used and what is your experience with participants?
Usually our coaches can tell if someone has a certain amount of work experience. If someone does not have any certificates or if, for example, language skills are an obstacle to finding out more about their work experience, the coaches then suggest MYSKILLS. People are usually motivated to take the test. This is partly because they have no other evidence of their professional knowledge or skills, but also because they are often unable to assess them themselves. We always have participants who want to turn their hobby into a career, for example someone who likes to tinker with a PC but doesn't know if there is a demand for these activities on the labour market or if they need further qualifications. Other test takers have had bad experiences with the job application process, so they often do not know their status on the labour market. In general, test situations are very unfamiliar for many, and when there is a language barrier, it becomes even more difficult. If they don't have to struggle through a test in German but can do it in their own language, this is a motivating aspect for this group of people.
What are your experiences with the test?
Many colleagues have told me that participants are incredibly motivated after a MYSKILLS test because they didn't expect such good results. For example, there was a participant who had training and work experience as a metal technician but had not worked in this field for five or six years at the time of the test. He took the metal technology test and was quite surprised himself that he still knew so much after such a long time. Sometimes it works inversely, with people feeling better about themselves than the test shows. These results from a MYSKILLS test give our coaches plenty of pointers for further work, both in terms of professional knowledge and self-assessment skills and stamina. It is also nice that the participants can work at their own pace and that they can organise their breaks relatively flexibly. This is especially important for long-term unemployed people who have been in school for a long time. A test situation is always stressful. The fact that they can take a break from the test and work at their own pace is very helpful. We have noticed that the participants' concentration is stable from start to finish and that they perform better as a result. We are also impressed with the latest technology and the new user interface. After a short briefing, colleagues are very independent in their use and everything works well. In general, there is very little need for support from me as the project coordinator. It is difficult to use the MYSKILLS test if the participants have poor language skills, i.e. are not literate in their mother tongue. However, the test is structured in such a way that a lack of literacy skills is quickly detected and we can stop the test relatively quickly. Digital literacy is also relevant to the test. Participants should have used a computer before and know how to use a mouse, i.e. how to drag and click. In fact, this turned out to be a special feature that should definitely be tested in advance. If people are not so good at using a mouse, this means that the test administrator needs to be a bit more supportive during the test and may have to help the participants.
Do you remember any particular positive examples of the use of MYSKILLS?
One of our first participants from Düsseldorf took the test for the "Metal Technician" in Romanian. The background was that the job centre did not want to give the participant the welding certificates required for the job. The reason given by the job centre was that the language level was not yet sufficient, as the participant did not have a B2 certificate. However, our trainer felt that the man was at B2 level verbally and would be able to follow any course without any problems. So we used MYSKILLS and the man achieved a really good result. In fact, he achieved the highest possible score in two out of five areas, which is extremely rare. With this result, my colleague went back to the job centre and was able to arrange for the participant to receive the welding certificate as a training voucher.
There are many of positive examples that come to mind. I mentioned earlier the participant who took the metal technology test and was surprised by his good result even though he had not worked in the profession for several years. He was able to use the test result to apply for a job and then found one. We see that participants who achieve good results can use them successfully in the application process. If we see from the test that certain skills are still lacking, we can offer appropriate partial training. For example, if we see that someone scored poorly in the salesperson test in the 'cashier' area, we can offer that individual the appropriate training. The person may even be able to register for an external exam and have the whole qualification recognised retrospectively.
For us, MYSKILLS is simply a very useful tool that we can use as an educational institution, be it for job placement, coaching or for deciding whether or not to recommend further training. The certificates are always welcomed by the participants and perceived to be valuable.
