If your business hires workers from the skilled trades, you’re looking for someone who has been trained at a vocational or technical college or has completed an apprenticeship program. That individual will have received a certificate (journeyman machinist papers, for example) that proves he or she has gone through the training and is worth the higher pay rates that skilled tradespeople can expect.

But what if you hire an electrician based on a license that was not earned with hard work and study but was obtained online? In other words, you may have hired someone whose electrical training and experience don’t go much beyond replacing a light switch.

Maybe you’ll hire someone who has presented a false license or certificate, and your new worker will be able to fake it through the first few weeks before it becomes evident that he’s posing as a professional. If you’re lucky, you’ll discover your mistake before he does any real damage to your finances and reputation by causing a lawsuit.

But there is an alternative to this scenario. It’s called Professional License Verification, and it’s completed before you even make a job offer. It’s an integral part of any employment verification background check, and it protects your business and your reputation.

Here are three good reasons not to skip this step in the hiring process:

It Protects Your Customers

Think of the skilled trades workers that a business might send into a consumer’s house as part of a home improvement project or to make repairs. Or suppose that you’ve been contracted to do work for another business. These skilled individuals could include:

• Carpenters
• HVAC Technicians
• Plumbers
• Electricians

Substandard work, unnoticed at the time, could later cause safety issues resulting in property damage, injuries, or worse. Your customers, not to mention your reputation and your bank account, might be seriously harmed.

It Helps to Shield Your Business from Negligent Hiring Claims

If your company hires a skilled trades worker who injures or harms a customer, coworker, or anyone else who comes into contact with the employee during business, you could be charged with negligent hiring. Negligence comes from not requesting the appropriate background checks, including a professional license screening, before hiring.

Negligent hiring claims can be prevented by ensuring that your workers do have the skills that they are claiming on an application or resume.

It Confirms Information on the Application

Like all facets of background screening, professional license verification corroborates much of the information a candidate has provided. Remember, establishing the applicant’s training is just one part of the equation. You also need to verify that the license or certificate is active and in good standing with the board that issued it.

Need to have Professional License Verification in Buffalo?

Metrodata Services Inc. is one of the leading pre-employment screening firms in Buffalo. We are here to confirm that your candidates have valid certificates and licenses. We will help you make the best possible hiring decision.