case study
Process Outsourcing + Power Generation
In July 2019, we recruited the first five TIG 141 pipe welders from the Philippines for a client. We recruited remotely by having a Philippine Agent perform welding tests along with RT photos. We made our decision based on the resumes we received and the photos and videos of the tests. Once the first group was selected and all the paperwork for obtaining work permits, visas, all tests and other steps required by POLO (Philipino Overseas Labour Office) and POEA (Philipino Overseas Employment Agency) were completed. Candidates flew to Poland in February and March 2021 (due to the COVID pandemic).
From the beginning – that is, from our first visit to Manila in February 2019 – the recruitment model was to be based on the Skills Assessment Center, but unfortunately, due to the pandemic in the first year, this did not work out.
After hiring the first five workers, we began testing for welders and fitters in Manila through a local agency, but unfortunately, continued air traffic restrictions and subsequent restrictions effectively delayed this.
The possibilities changed in March/April 2022. Our client came to the conclusion that he would also like to participate in such tests, so together we came to the conclusion that we would fly together. We finally arrived in Manila on the third of April 2022 and got to work, conducting the first tests on the fourth of April.
Throughout the week, we tested about 240 people, basically performing simple tests in TIG 141 HL045, tests in MAG 135 and tests for pipe fitters / ironworkers. We selected about 120 candidates from the tested group. With the experience we gained for the next tests, we had already implemented higher standards and changed the test center, but it still wasn’t what the client expected.
In the end, we decided to replicate one-to-one production conditions by making pressure parts (manifold) in Poland at the Customer’s site and sending them to be welded in Manila. This was already a test, after which the Customer knew whether a particular welder would weld the pressure parts.
For the assemblers, the client made models of the panels (to scale printed in 3D) and a series of written tests. And that was it! Basically, we already had a model ready to meet the needs of the client and similar manufacturers. Since then, we have successfully tested many candidates (about 1,600 people), recruited and hired several hundred of them, and applied the Assessment Center model in India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, and soon in Vietnam.
Our employees currently make up 30% of the production crew at the client’s site, increasing its competitive edge in the European market.