Recruitment process consulting for Aerospace Fabrication Units: finding scarce welders and formers
A vacant jig can sit idle for weeks because skilled welders and formers are scarce. A clear hiring routine finds them faster and tests what they can really make.
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Share your requirementsWhy recruitment process consulting matters in aerospace fabrication units
Without a routine, hiring waits on word of mouth. A vacancy is announced to two contacts, a candidate arrives with a good reputation and is put on a hard part with no test. The unit learns on the third bracket that his thin-sheet control is weak. Meanwhile a better candidate took another offer because yours took a fortnight. After each miss the owner complains about the market and not about the process.
Good looks like a role description that states material, thickness, parts and tolerance of finish. A short trade test, watched by a senior welder, on a part like your real work. A visit to the bay and a talk with the team. An offer within days, with pay set against your grade. Referrals from your best people are asked for and thanked. Recruitment records show source, test result and how long the hire stayed.
How to set it up
1. Write the role by work, not by years
State the sheet materials, thicknesses, joint types and parts. Say what the person will do alone after three months. See role design and job descriptions.
2. Ask your own people and nearby networks
Ask welders, suppliers and former hands for names. Offer a modest thanks for referrals that stay. Keep a list of good people who were not hired yet.
3. Test on a realistic part
A short job on offcut material, watched by your senior welder against a written list. Use the same test for all candidates and record scores.
4. Show the bay and the team
Let the finalist see the jigs, extraction and people he would work with. Many candidates decide on how they are treated and what they see.
5. Offer quickly and track the hire
Offer within days, against your grade, with a written probation plan. After six months, record how he is doing and which source found him. Our recruitment process consulting page shows how we would help.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- List the last ten hires and note the source of each and whether they stayed.
- Count days between first meeting and offer for your last welder or former.
- Ask your senior welder what he would watch in a test and write the list.
- Check whether the last advert named material and thickness.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach recruitment process consulting in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Most units do both: a few experienced hands for hard jobs and an apprenticeship for the next line. Hiring alone is expensive and unreliable in a scarce market.
A short trial on a part similar to your real work, watched by your senior welder against a written list. Keep a record so every candidate gets the same test.
It happens, but treat it carefully and ask a qualified professional about restrictions the person may have. Judge the hire on skill and fit, and treat his old unit's work and information with respect.