Put an obstacle in front of him and see if he can climb it.
Do you think he has good potential? Does he look like he's willing to learn?
I guess the good thing about hiring someone you know is that you may have better picture of what sort of employee s/he would make than may be possible through an interview with someone you dont. I would rather have someone who absolutely loves the technology and is open to learning all about them, than someone who just does it because thats the only skill set they have, and have been doing it for so long they think they know everything - and dont
If you really think his skills are weak, maybe put to him that he needs to sit an A+ test before you can hire him, and that his initial position would be 'trainee' with a probationary period rather than 'tech' outright.
The reason I suggest placing A+ infront of him as a hurdle he has to jump, is that it will tell you two important things about him: (1) that he's prepared to learn, and (2) that he's genuinely keen on the job and on working with computers. Both important attributes for a potential employ in this Industry, which does require a love of the machines, and a preparedness to engage in ongoing learning to keep up with new developments in their technologies.
If he's not, either of those points will be invalid at which point you have to ask the question of his usable potential in a responsible technical job role.
I guess the other thing about A+ is that it will give him a reality check of how much he
doesnt know, which may give him some perspective on the actual skills and knowledge he has to work on to be viable in the job. If this is the case it will also impart a bit of humility which will be useful to you as his employer by being able to show him how the job is done
properly, if you opt to take him on
.
There are probably many other ways to assess his potential before taking the plunge, this is just what comes to mind as a suggestion.
Good luck with it. Whatever you decide, let us know how it goes?
