Hiring a tradesperson? 5 checks that show whether their experience is real

You can read a tradesperson's CV in two minutes, but you cannot see the welds, the wiring or the brake jobs behind it. If you take ten years of experience on trust and the person cannot do the work, the cost lands on you: rework, an unhappy customer, a safety risk on site and a job you have to advertise again. This article shows you 5 practical checks to verify tradesperson experience before you hire, and how to run them fairly so honest tradies are not put off.

None of these checks needs an HR department. A small business owner or site manager can do all of them in a few days, alongside the normal interview.

Why trade experience is hard to judge from a CV

Trade CVs tend to look alike. "Experienced in commercial and residential work", "strong attention to detail", "able to work unsupervised": every applicant can type the same lines. What separates a capable electrician from someone who has mostly pulled cable for others is detail that rarely makes it onto paper: which jobs they ran on their own, which tools and systems they know, what they were trusted to sign off.

Job titles add to the confusion. "Fitter", "technician" and "mechanic" can mean very different things from one employer or country to the next, and a "leading hand" at one firm may have had no one to lead. Dates can also hide a lot: three years on a CV might be three years full time, or a few months of work spread across seasonal contracts.

That does not mean candidates are lying. Most are not. It means the CV is a starting point, and a few checks turn it into something you can rely on.

The 5 checks, in the order that saves you time

Run the quick, cheap checks first and keep the time-consuming ones for your shortlist. That way you only spend an afternoon on a trade test with people who have already cleared the basics.

Check 1: Confirm the licence or registration yourself

For many trades, such as electrical, plumbing, gasfitting and some building work, a current licence or registration is a legal requirement in many places, not a nice extra. Ask for the licence number, the class or type, and the issuing state or country. Then look it up on the regulator's public register where one exists, rather than relying on a photo of a card. In New Zealand, for example, the Electrical Workers Registration Board runs a public register of electrical workers, and Australian states and territories run their own licence searches.

Check three things: that the name matches, that the licence is current, and that its class covers the work you need. A restricted or provisional licence is not a problem in itself, but you need to know about it before you roster someone on unsupervised work.

Check 2: Speak to someone who supervised the work

A reference from a site supervisor, foreman or business owner who saw the person work is worth far more than a general letter from head office. Ask the candidate for the name and role of the person who supervised them, then confirm the dates, the role and the kind of work they did. Keep the call short and specific. A company that will only confirm dates is not a warning sign on its own; many organisations have that policy.

If the business has closed or the referee is in another country, the candidate may need other proof, such as a service letter, contract or tax record. The earlier article on proving employment when a company has closed covers the documents that can stand in for a phone call.

Check 3: Look at evidence of real jobs

Photos and short videos of finished work are common in the trades and easy to ask for. A cabinet maker can show joinery, a welder can show a run of welds, a mechanic can show a diagnosis being done. Ask the candidate to talk you through two or three of them: what the job was, what went wrong, what they would do differently. Someone who did the work answers easily and in detail. Someone who borrowed the photos usually does not.

Treat this evidence as a prompt for questions, not as a certificate. A photo shows a result, not who produced it or how long it took.

Check 4: Ask questions only someone who has done the work can answer

General questions ("tell me about yourself") get general answers. Ask instead about a specific job on the CV: the materials, the tools, the problem that held it up, the inspection at the end. Good follow-ups include:

• "Walk me through the last fault you found on a commercial switchboard. How did you trace it?"
• "On that pipeline job, which welding processes did you use and in which positions?"
• "What did your supervisor check before signing off your work?"

Write down the answers. They give you something concrete to confirm in the reference call.

Check 5: Watch them work with a short trade test

For many roles, an hour on the tools tells you more than any document. Set a realistic task that matches the job: a test weld in the position you need, wiring a small board, diagnosing a planted fault on a vehicle, reading a drawing and marking out. Keep it short, supervised and safe, with the right PPE and someone qualified watching. Rules on paying for trial work differ between countries; in Australia, the Fair Work Ombudsman explains when unpaid trials are and are not allowed, so check the official guidance where you are.

What each kind of evidence can and cannot tell you

No single check covers everything. This comparison helps you decide which ones matter most for the role.

A simple verification routine for a small business

Here is one way to fit the checks into a normal hiring week without slowing it down:

1. In the job ad, say that you will ask for a licence number, a supervisor's name and examples of past work. Honest applicants appreciate knowing early.
2. When you shortlist, look up every licence on the public register before you book interviews.
3. In the interview, ask about two specific jobs from the CV and note the details.
4. Invite the strongest one or two candidates to a short, supervised trade test.
5. Call the supervisor referee for your preferred candidate, and confirm the details you noted in the interview.
6. Keep a short record of what you checked and when, and store any documents securely.

A worked example

Say you run a small fabrication shop and Daniel, a fictional applicant, lists six years as a boilermaker-welder. His licence and tickets check out where a register exists. In the interview he describes a pressure vessel job in detail, including the weld procedure and the inspection. His test plate in the vertical position is clean. His former supervisor confirms the dates and says he was trusted with structural work but not pipe. You now know exactly where he fits, and which tasks he may need support with in his first months.

Being fair to honest candidates

Verification should help you hire well, not shut out good people. A few habits keep it fair:

• Treat an odd date, a gap or a missing referee as a question to ask, not proof of lying. Seasonal work, illness and family duties all leave gaps.
• Run the same checks for every shortlisted candidate, so your decision is consistent and easy to explain.
• Ask for documents only when you need them, and never ask anyone to share pay figures or bank details. A payslip with the amounts covered still shows the employer and dates.
• Give overseas experience a fair hearing. A welder trained abroad may hold different certificates and use different terms. The guide to proving overseas work experience explains what candidates can provide, which tells you what to ask for.

Where a verified profile can help

Some tradespeople now share a profile link with their application instead of a plain CV, which can save you part of the checking. On a Talent Tabloid profile, a role carries a verified badge only after the person the candidate nominated confirmed it or the team reviewed documents such as service letters, contracts or pay slips. Candidates can also attach up to 5 work videos and link a video to a specific skill, so you can watch the work being done before you call. If a candidate gives you their username or link, you can look them up on People Search.

A badge does not replace your own licence check or trade test, and evidence on a profile is optional, so use it as a head start rather than the whole job. The employer page explains how search, badges and contact unlocks work. The Employer Monthly Base Plan is $6.99 a month and includes 3 contact unlocks per billing cycle. If that suits your hiring, create an employer account.

Frequently asked questions

How can I check a tradie's experience if their old employer will not respond?

Ask the candidate for another supervisor from the same job, or for documents such as a service letter, contract or tax record. Then lean more on the interview questions and a short trade test.

Is a photo of a licence card enough?

It is a start, but a photo can be out of date or altered. Where the regulator runs a public register, look the licence up yourself and check the class and expiry.

Should every tradesperson do a practical test?

Not always. For roles where safety or quality depends on hands-on skill, a short supervised test is often worth the time. Keep it realistic, safe and the same for every candidate, and check the official rules on paying for trial work.

Can I verify trade experience gained overseas?

Often, yes, though it may take longer. Ask for service letters, contracts and a referee who supervised the work, and give the candidate time to provide translations where needed.