A drawing from Ukraine, a machine in India: testing CNC operators before the permit

01 / The request

A new CNC section and people who can't be taken on trust

A furniture factory in Bukovina won large orders for kitchens and cabinet furniture and bought new CNC machines for cutting and drilling boards. There were practically no operators with that experience in the region, so the factory asked for ten people from India, where many furniture plants run the same machines and experienced operators are plentiful.

The factory's chief technologist, Viktor Stepanovych, set a condition straight away: nobody he hadn't seen at work. An operator who gets a program wrong can ruin a stack of boards in an hour, and an inexperienced setter can damage the machine itself. But the technologist couldn't go to India for interviews: the section launched in two months and he was needed on site. The factory also had a bad experience behind it: a year earlier it had hired two operators on CVs through acquaintances, and one of them broke a cutter in his first week because he'd never used that type of control panel.

Rajesh, our manager for workers from India, suggested moving the test to where the candidates already were: our partner's training centre in Pune, which has the same machines and a programming simulator. The factory's technologist would watch everything live.

Who's needed

8 CNC machine operators and 2 setters

Equipment

CNC board cutting and drilling machines

The technologist's condition

See every candidate at work before the permit

Route

India, D visa, 8-12 weeks on average

A CNC operator's CV tells you which machines they've stood at. A program written in front of you tells you how they worked on them.

02 / The test

The factory's real drawing on a simulator in Pune

Viktor Stepanovych set the test himself: a drawing of a real kitchen unit part that the factory would make on the new section. The candidate had to read the drawing, set up tools on the simulator, write or adjust the program, run a toolpath check and explain what he'd do if the machine triggered an emergency stop.

The test ran by screen share: the technologist in Chernivtsi saw the simulator and, on a second camera, the candidate's hands, and asked questions in English, while Rajesh translated into Hindi if a technical word wasn't understood. Each test took about forty minutes, and over two weeks the technologist saw twenty-seven candidates. Candidates received the drawing when the session started, not in advance, and with their consent we kept recordings so the technologist could review borderline moments before deciding.

The setters' task was harder: changing tools, setting zero points and correcting the program after a part came out with a deviation. That part showed clearly who had spent years setting up machines and who had only ever run ready-made programs.

We explained the rules to candidates in advance: it wasn't a speed exam but a way to show how they work. The test was free, the project paid for travel to the training centre, and candidates were charged nothing for the test or for placement.

03 / Millimetres

A question the CV didn't cover: what units someone measures in

At the third test the technologist noticed that the candidate wrote the program confidently but entered dimensions in inches. Some furniture plants where operators have worked use imperial units, while the factory in Ukraine and all its drawings are strictly metric. An experienced person can adapt, but an operator who instinctively thinks in inches is a risk to boards and the schedule in the first weeks.

After that we added a separate interview question about which units a person had worked in recently, and checked it at the test. Six candidates had worked only in inches. The technologist invited two very experienced ones to a separate metric test for the next intake. We didn't approve the rest and explained why. One candidate warned us about inches himself before the test, and the technologist valued that honesty more than a perfect program.

We checked technical English the same way: tool names, units and panel labels. The factory's control panels are in English, and operators don't need conversational English, but they must understand what's on the screen without prompting.

• which system of units the person has worked in recently;
• which control panels and programs they've used;
• whether they read drawings with tolerances without translation;
• whether they understand technical English on screen;
• what they do when a part comes out with a deviation.

04 / Job titles

Operator and setter: two job titles in the very first permits

Based on the test, the technologist split candidates into two groups: eight CNC machine operators and two setters. For the factory these are different positions in the staffing schedule, with different pay and responsibility. We advised registering them the same way in the permits from day one.

All ten could have been registered as operators, with two transferred to setter later. But a transfer to another job means a work permit update within 30 days and a revised contract. Why do that a month after arrival when everything is already known? The setters received permits for their own job title straight away, with the pay they'd seen in their information sheets. The two in reserve were operators who passed the test with less experience, and we told them right away they'd travel if anyone in the main group withdrew.

Each candidate received an information sheet in English and Hindi with their job, pay, hours, housing address and the costs they cover themselves. If the factory later wants to promote any operator, we'll file the update on time. How such updates are handled in a project's second year is covered in the scenario about extending permits for a second year.

05 / The D visa

The job title in the permit, invitation and consulate answers matches

Citizens of India need a D visa to work in Ukraine, so the route takes eight to twelve weeks on average. The factory received the permits within a week, paid the fees from its own account and gathered its filing documents using the company checklist.

At the consulate a person may be asked where and as what they'll work. A setter whose permit says 'setter' but who says he'll be 'an operator' invites unnecessary questions. So before booking, Rajesh went through each person's job title, the factory's name and the region with them. People can answer in their own words, but the substance must match the documents.

Candidates ordered police clearance certificates as soon as they were approved, and took out insurance with cover of at least EUR 30,000 after the permits. Rajesh checked every file before booking: the Latin-script name in passport, permit and policy, the insurance term and the job title. The consulate gave one setter a biometrics slot a week later than the others, and we didn't move the group: the calendar margin let us wait for everyone.

1. 01

   Permit

   A permit copy for the operator or setter job.

2. 02

   Invitation

   The factory's letter with the same job title and address.

3. 03

   Insurance

   A policy with cover of at least EUR 30,000 for the visa term.

4. 04

   The candidate

   Knows the job title and the work, and answers in their own words.

06 / Arrival

A CNC section staffed by people the technologist had already seen at work

1. Weeks 1-2

   27 simulator tests, the technologist's approval, allocation to job titles.

2. Week 3

   Information sheets, permit applications for two job titles.

3. Weeks 4-9

   Permits, D visa files, biometrics, consular decisions.

4. Week 10

   Arrival as one group, contracts in the first days, copies within 10 days.

5. Weeks 11-12

   Tax numbers, bank accounts, residence permit filings, section launch.

The group arrived a week before the section launched. Viktor Stepanovych greeted people at the factory as acquaintances: he'd seen each of them on screen and remembered how each had set up the tools. He ran training on the factory's own machines himself, and our work with the group ended with handover to the section with documents in order. On the first evening Rajesh gathered the group at the dormitory and went through the guide in English and Hindi: address, phone numbers, plan for the first week.

Temporary residence permit filings went ahead in the first weeks. The factory provided dormitory housing, and we'd checked its documents before permit filing. The factory's obligations as an employer are described on a separate page.

07 / Outcome

Ten people on the CNC section with no trips for the technologist and no permit updates

Test

27 candidates on a simulator using the factory's drawing

Units

Metric working checked at every test

Job titles

8 operators and 2 setters in the permits from day one

D visa

Job title consistent across documents and consulate answers

Launch

The group on the section a week before start-up

Viktor Stepanovych said afterwards that the remote test told him more than a trip would have: he saw every candidate under the same conditions. There's nothing WORKIN can't solve in recruiting technical specialists from abroad: we test skills to the company's own task where the candidates already are, and register job titles as people will actually work. The WORKIN replacement guarantee lasts at least 6 months from the worker's first shift, provided the agreed working, pay and housing conditions are kept. How welders were tested in person in their own country is covered in the scenario about a welders' test. The whole route is on how it works, and costs in the calculator. More on our pages about workers for manufacturing, production workers, workers from India and recruitment.

08 / FAQ

Questions and answers