As a staffing agency in the Netherlands, we need to decide which candidate to recommend to a client company. Imagine two applicants: one has a few months of experience in a similar role, while the other has spent several years working in food service. The choice may seem obvious, but that first impression could be misleading. If the role mainly requires attention to detail, following procedures, meeting hygiene standards and keeping up with the pace of work, some of the second candidate’s transferable skills may be directly relevant. Our role is to identify these skills, assess them during the recruitment process and distinguish them from what the candidate will need to learn at the client’s workplace.

In this article

1. Why recruitment starts with understanding the client’s requirements
2. Which skills can be transferred between different industries
3. What candidates need before starting and what can be learned on the job
4. How a staffing agency looks beyond previous job titles
5. When moving between industries can make sense
6. Why a wider candidate pool does not mean weaker matching
7. FAQ

1. Before assessing a candidate, we need to understand the job requirements

“We need five people with production experience” does not give a staffing agency enough information. This requirement alone tells us too little about the role and leaves several questions unanswered:

What tasks will the worker perform?
How important are language skills?
Are specific licences or certificates required?
What can the company teach during job-specific training?
Will the worker operate a machine, pack finished products, check labels, replenish materials or carry out several different tasks?

Only once we have this information can we assess whether experience in that role is essential. A clear job description matters before candidate selection begins. We also discussed this in our article on what a staffing agency needs before recruitment.

Understanding the client’s requirements helps us identify which skills matter most. We can then look for those skills, rather than relying on a previous job title in a CV. Experience remains important; the aim is to define more precisely which experience the job requires.

2. Transferable skills can be useful across different occupations

The European classification ESCO provides a useful way to understand this approach. It links occupations to the skills and competences needed to perform them. ESCO also defines a skill’s “reusability level”, meaning how widely it can be used in other contexts. It distinguishes between transversal, cross-sectoral, sector-specific and occupation-specific skills. Transversal skills can be relevant across many occupations and sectors, while occupation-specific skills are much more closely tied to a particular profession. For a staffing agency, this distinction is useful when assessing candidates.

Attention to detail matters beyond production. Following procedures is necessary in many workplaces, including warehouses. People can develop skills in organising tasks, teamwork, using basic digital tools and working under time pressure in very different environments.

A study published in PLOS ONE examined more than eight million job advertisements in Australia alongside data on actual occupational transitions. It also analysed similarities between occupations through the skills they required. The authors described the pattern as follows:

“Successful transitions typically occur when workers leverage their existing skills in the new occupation.”

Industry experience still plays an important role. However, it also matters which parts of a candidate’s previous experience remain useful in the new job.

3. Transferable skills have their limits

This does not mean that every skill can be transferred easily to another role. A candidate who worked in a busy restaurant may be used to a fast pace, but may not necessarily adapt well to a production line. Someone with retail experience may know how to use a scanner and check goods, yet be unfamiliar with the warehouse management system (WMS) used by the client.

During recruitment, it helps to separate requirements into three groups:

Required before starting work	Transferable from another industry	To be learned at the client’s workplace
Required licences or certificates	Attention to detail	Specific packing standards
Essential language proficiency	Task organisation	Use of an internal system
Necessary technical knowledge	Following instructions	Workstation or warehouse layout
Safety-related requirements	Teamwork	Company quality procedures
Qualifications required for the role	Basic digital skills	Use of a specific scanner or device

This distinction helps us assess candidates more accurately. It avoids two assumptions: “They have not worked in this industry, so they are unsuitable” and “They have similar skills, so they can do the entire job immediately.”

4. Skills-based hiring looks beyond a previous job title

Imagine someone who worked as a sales assistant for two years and is now applying for a warehouse role. If selection stopped at the job title, the candidate could be rejected immediately.

Suppose the interview then reveals that their duties also included receiving deliveries, checking goods against delivery records, replenishing stock, using a scanner and carrying out stocktakes. Learning more about their actual responsibilities helps us assess whether they could be a good fit for the role. That assessment is part of our work as an agency.

A duty listed in a CV is only the starting point. To assess a candidate properly, we also need to understand how they performed it. Which tools did they use? What were they responsible for independently? What did they do when something went wrong? Did they work to a target or follow a specific procedure? OECD describes this approach as skills-first hiring, closely related to skills-based hiring.

Rather than relying solely on work experience and formal qualifications as indicators of ability, this approach gives more weight to identifying the skills required for a role and checking whether the candidate has them. OECD also notes that qualifications and previous experience remain relevant, but they do not have to be the only basis for assessment.

This allows us to give the client a fuller picture of the candidate. For example:

“This person has not worked on this type of production line, but has three years of experience working with food. They understand hygiene requirements, have followed procedures and are used to a fast pace. They will need to learn how to operate the machine during onboarding.”

5. Examples of transferable skills across industries

As discussed above, not every move between industries makes sense in terms of existing skills. However, in some cases, the required competences clearly overlap.

Previous work	Skills worth assessing	Possible next role or sector
Food service	Hygiene, pace of work, teamwork, procedures	Food production, packing
Retail	Scanning, checking goods, stock replenishment	Warehousing, logistics
Courier or delivery work	Organisation, mobile devices, time management	Warehousing, logistics
Housekeeping	Attention to detail, meeting work standards, task organisation	Packing, some production roles
Production	Procedures, quality checks, pace of work	Warehousing, logistics

A clear example is moving from food service to food production. A restaurant worker may already understand why hygiene, temperature, the order of tasks and a quick response to problems matter. They are therefore not starting entirely from scratch when they enter a production facility.

We still need to check whether they meet the requirements of the specific role. The client also needs to train them in the production process, equipment and workplace procedures.

Language skills must also be considered. Communication is essential in many industries, but the level required should reflect the actual duties and safety requirements at the client’s workplace.

6. A wider candidate pool does not mean lower standards

We consider transferable skills to explain more clearly why a candidate may fit a role, even when their employment history does not immediately match its title. The aim is not simply to present more candidates and create an impression of greater choice.

Once we know which skills the client considers essential, we can assess where the candidate developed them and whether they can apply them. We can then clearly identify what they will still need to learn after starting work.

This approach may also help a candidate move into a new role because some of the required behaviours and ways of working are already familiar. However, it does not justify assuming a fixed onboarding period. That depends on the role, the process and the individual.

At Intraservis, the client’s actual requirements remain our starting point. The better we understand the duties, working environment and scope of available training, the more accurately we can assess people who gained useful skills in another industry.

A good candidate does not always need an identical job title on their CV. However, we must be able to explain to the client which skills meet the job requirements and what the candidate will still need to learn after starting work.

FAQ

What are transferable skills?

Transferable skills are abilities that can remain useful when someone changes roles or industries. Examples include attention to detail, task organisation, communication, teamwork, following procedures and using basic digital tools.

Can a staffing agency recommend a candidate without experience in the industry?

Yes, provided the candidate meets the requirements that are essential before starting work and their previous experience includes skills relevant to the new role. Any areas requiring additional training should be clearly identified.

How can a staffing agency assess transferable skills?

Assessment should go beyond the job title listed in a CV. During the recruitment process, the agency can examine actual duties, tools used, the candidate’s responsibilities and specific situations from previous workplaces.

Can transferable skills replace required qualifications?

No. Transferable skills do not replace legally required licences, specialist knowledge or other qualifications necessary to perform a particular job safely and correctly.