The subjective nature of assessment focuses attention on the prior perceptions that workplace assessors can bring to formal assessment activities, regarding the competence of workers. This paper draws on a study into workplace learning and assessment practices and the construction of worker identities, which was conducted at three food production companies in North East Victoria. The paper proposes that, rather than concentrating principally on planned, formal assessment activities to determine the competence of workers, workplaces could develop an alternative approach and support assessors to utilize (and make publicly justifiable), the prior perceptions they have regarding workers' skills and abilities on-the-job and include these in the overall assessment.