Employers 'should judge candidates on skills'

When considering applicants for a post, employers should judge them based solely on their skill set, one expert has commented.

Steve Williams, head of equality services at the employment relations organisation Acas, said that recruiters should focus on what abilities applicants have and how they could contribute to their organisation, rather than other aspects such as appearance.

His comments came after a report by Slimming World showed that overweight people are missing out on jobs because employers assume they are lazy, lack self-control and are not hard workers.

Mr Williams said that the key thing for employers to focus on is whether a person's experience can help a company and help to give it an advantage over other firms in the long run.

His comments came after Will Cookson, head of skills at Working Links, recently said that having a good skill set can help candidates to gain and sustain employment in the current economic environment.

Posted by Lee Anne Lewis