Starla L. Ivey
Dissertation Defense
Dissertation Committee
Dr. Bob Stewart
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Craig Israelsen
Dr. Deanna L. Sharpe
Dr. James Laffey
Introduction
SCANS (1991)

Competencies
Resources
 Information
 Interpersonal skills
 Systems
 Technology

Need for Study
Claiborne (1992)

Strains on finding qualified applicants
Huber (1997)

Increased difficulty in finding qualified applicants
Richens (1999)

Entry-level employees possession of SCANS
competencies
HR Guide (1999)

Methods for assessing prospective employees
Purpose
Investigate the perceptions of human
resource personnel with respect to
workplace competencies possessed of job
applicants and the factors employed when
evaluating these skills in job applicants
Research Question
What is the level of workplace competencies
possessed by prospective employees at various
educational/skill levels as perceived by human
resources personnel?
Is there a significant difference among the mean
workplace competencies possessed by prospective
employees at various educational/skill levels as
perceived by human resources personnel?
What methods do human resource personnel
utilize to assess workplace competencies
possessed by prospective employees at various
educational/skill levels?
Methodology
Independent Variable

Levels of Educational/Skill
1.
2.
3.
4.
Those who have completed less than a GED
(laboring/elemental skill level)
Those who have completed a high school diploma/GED or
some college, but no degree (intermediate skill level)
Those who have completed an associate’s degree
(technical/paraprofessional skill level)
Those who have completed a bachelor’s degree or beyond
(manager/professional skill level)
Methodology
Dependent Variables

The mean competency ratings for the skills
possessed by prospective employees as
perceived by human resource personnel about
the five areas of workplace competencies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Resources
Information
Interpersonal skills
Systems
Technology
Methodology
Sample

25 companies surveyed
Instrumentation

Questionnaire used in the study was based on
the SCANS workplace competencies report
(1993) and previous research conducted by
Yang (1994) and Harrison (1996)
Demographic Findings
N – number in the sample
 Not all employers hired at the less than GED
(laboring/elemental) educational/skill level
PERCENT OF TOTAL EMPLOYEES
 Slightly less than half of the current workforce
was comprised of those who have completed a
high school diploma or GED. Employees with
a degree (educational/skill levels 3 and 4) made
up another 46%. Very small percentage have
less than a GED.
Demographic Findings
AVERAGE SALARY

data implies that as the educational/skill level
of the prospective employee increases so does
the average salary.
RATIO APPLICANTS TO JOBS
Educational/skill level 1 = 10.84
 Educational/skill level 4 = 26.36

Research Question 1 - Findings
What is the level of workplace
competencies possessed by prospective
employees at various educational/skill
levels as perceived by human resources
personnel?

The data suggests that as the job applicant’s
educational/skill level increases so does the
level of workplace competencies possessed
Research Question 2 - Findings
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the
mean workplace competencies possessed by
prospective employees between two or more of
the educational/skill levels as perceived by human
resource personnel


Testing at the .05 level using ANOVA, a significant
difference between each educational/skill level and the
mean scores on the skill domains was found
Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test was utilized to analyze the
differences among the educational/skill levels
Research Question 2 - Findings
Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test
There was a significant difference among all of
the educational/skill levels for each mean
scores of the five workplace competency skill
domains for job applicants, except for domain 2
between educational/skill levels 3 and 4.
 Job applicants at each educational/skill level
possess differing amounts of workplace
competency skills.

Research Question 3 - Findings
What methods do human resource personnel
utilize to assess workplace competencies
possessed by prospective employees at various
educational/skill levels?


The methods used to assess workplace competencies
possessed by prospective employees at various
educational/skill levels stayed the same, however, more
specific/technical information is required at each
successive level
Each company used a combination of methods to assess
the qualifications of the applicants and to increase the
total validity of the screening process
Additional Findings
Human Resource Personnel perceived ..
Decrease in the soft skills of job applicants,
especially work ethic
 Short supply of hourly workers with high
turnover in those positions

Conclusions
Fewer employers are hiring job applicants who
are at the less than GED educational/skill level
2. Those at educational/skill levels 1 and 2 make up
over 50% of the workforce, however, the ratio of
applicants to available positions is not enough to
satisfy the current market demand
3. As educational/skill level of the prospective
employee increases so does the level of
workplace competencies and the hiring salary.
1.
Conclusions
4. The assessment methods do not differ for
applicants at each educational/skill level,
however, the type of information addressed
becomes increasingly more technical and
specific.
5. Companies utilize a combination of assessment
methods
6. Employers are having difficulty hiring qualified
applicant due to the following reasons: decline
in work ethic, fewer applicants, and skills need to
be higher.
Recommendations for Future
Research
1. A study should be conducted to analyze the
correlation between salary and workplace
competencies within occupational groups.
2. Further research is needed to determine the longterm success of students achieving various levels of
workplace competencies.
3. A study should be conducted that samples a larger
number of companies.
Recommendations for Future
Research
4. Further research is needed to more deeply
investigate the assessment methods utilized by human
resource personnel and their ability to predict valuable
employees.
5. As the workplace is an ever-changing dynamic
setting, research on employability skills and the ability
of applicants to fulfill positions should be continual.
Future work in this area should correspond with
business and industry’s needs and how education can
prepare workers for a competitive global market.