Measuring Skills for Better Work(er) Outcomes | Human Capital Strategies
A strong U.S. economy depends on a workforce with the right skills—and the ability to adapt as jobs change. Employers need reliable, job‑relevant ways to identify, select, and develop talent, especially for high‑demand and hard‑to‑fill roles. Without valid, scalable skill assessments, workforce decisions are often based on incomplete or inconsistent information.
With more than 80 years of experience, AIR helps industry associations, certification bodies, workforce and apprenticeship programs, and state and federal agencies build and use high‑quality skill assessments. We support talent selection, training, credentialing, and occupational licensing by offering scalable, customizable solutions that meet legal and professional standards.
Our multidisciplinary teams work with subject matter experts to design and validate assessment systems employers and agencies can trust. We focus on accuracy, fairness, and alignment with real‑world job demands, while reducing barriers to participation and maintaining high standards.
AIR’s assessment expertise includes job knowledge tests, situational judgment tests, structured interviews, work samples, physical ability tests, cognitive assessments, biodata, role plays, and writing assessments.
AIR Specializes in Advancing Talent Evaluation
- Holistic and Skills-Based Assessments provide a complete picture of an individual's abilities, competencies, and potential. By focusing on skills, the assessment ensures that the evaluation goes beyond theoretical knowledge and considers practical skills that are essential for success in various domains, benefiting workers and employers alike.
- Innovations in Assessment for large-scale development of high-quality items, while improving efficiencies and test security. Our nationally recognized multidisciplinary team of assessment experts are dedicated to exploring, researching, and implementing AI-based assessments' development and validation.
Our Projects
Improving Career Readiness Through Skills-Based Measurement
Year Up United has partnered with AIR to design a skills-based assessment framework and implement a valid, reliable suite of assessments that track student progress. These assessments verify that students have acquired critical competencies and highlight areas where additional support is needed. AIR’s collaboration with YUU has created a foundation for a robust system to evaluate and strengthen learner readiness throughout the entire YUU program lifecycle.
Selecting Electrical Apprentices
AIR partnered with the electrical training ALLIANCE to develop job‑relevant selection tools for electrician apprentices. Using job analysis data, we built and validated an apprentice selection system that identifies the skills most critical for success. The result is a more targeted selection process that improves apprenticeship completion rates and strengthens the talent pipeline.
High-Stakes Test Development Project
AIR provides extensive support for a high-stakes, nationally administered, standardized exam that uses both stand-alone and stimulus-based multiple-choice items across various disciplines.
Competency-Based Credentialing Exam for Human Resource Professionals
AIR has developed exams, determined cut-off scores, and prepared score reports for behavioral competency-based certifications for the Society for Human Resource Management for early- and mid-career professionals as well as senior-level practitioners. These certifications help demonstrate to the global business community that the credential-holder has strong capabilities in both aspects of HR practice—competency and knowledge—that are required for effective job performance.
