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NEW YORK, May 8, 2001— More than a third
of job applicants tested in reading and math in 2000 lacked the basic
skills necessary to perform the jobs they sought, according to American
Management Association’s (AMA) annual survey on workplace testing,
released today.
AMA surveyed 1,627 firms, which tested an average of 278 job applicants
last year and rejected 95 for insufficient skills. The 34.1 percent deficiency
rate was lower than in 1999 (38.3%) and 1998 (35.5%), AMA reported. Overall,
41 percent of those surveyed required basic skills tests of job applicants,
down from 43 percent the previous year. By a slight margin, companies
were more likely to test applicants for math skills (38%) than reading
skills (35%).
Eighty-five percent of companies said they do not hire skills-deficient
applicants, but nearly seven percent hire them and offer remedial training
and an additional eight percent offer “other” actions that include
retesting at a later date.
“Even with recent downsizing announcements, companies are still dealing
with shortages in qualified workers,” said Eric Greenberg, AMA’s
director of management studies. “New technologies have raised the
bar in terms of necessary skills for many jobs, and higher levels of reading
and math are required in job applicants.”
In a tight labor market, companies continued a downward trend in the share
that offers any job skills testing or psychological measurement. Fifty-seven
percent of surveyed firms say they test applicants for job skills—down
from 60 percent the previous year and 62 percent the year before, and
29 percent use some form of psychological testing—down from 33 percent
the two prior years.
Specifically, testing applicants for typing and data entry skills is down
to 36 percent from last year (39%) and from1999 (46%); testing word processing
skills is down to 31 percent from last year (34%) and from 1999 (37%);
and testing spreadsheet and database management skills is down to 26 percent,
identical to last year but down from 1999 (28%).
About AMA
American Management Association is the world’s leading membership-based
management development organization. It is distinguished by the quality
of its faculty of global business practitioners, the practical action-oriented
focus of its learning programs and the dynamic, interactive nature of
its courses. AMA offers a full range of business education and management
development programs for individuals and organizations in the Americas,
Asia, and Europe. More than 700,000 AMA customers and members a year,
including 488 out of the Fortune 500 companies and many federal agencies,
learn superior business skills and best management practices through a
variety of seminars, conferences and executive forums, e-learning and
self-study courses, books, research studies, and onsite and customized
learning solutions.
For a summary of the 2001 AMA Survey: Basic Skills,
Job Skills, and Psychological Measurement visit the AMA research site
at http://www.amanet.org/research.
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