Lemme make this stuff clear:
No expierience, no skill.
Expierience is in Anyway near art, if coloring, if drawing with a pencil, if just fooling around, while that you're gaining a skill.
the matter is that you can "improve" your skills.
so its been said many times: Exp. = Skill
with no expierience you cant get any skills
with no skills you wouldnt have had any expierience.
when someone draws something it means he is skilled allready.
Now your point is:
-I see someone who has joined my team, he is pretty skilled!
-> yeh but he doesnt have much expierience at this job.
-> he can get teached to those small things wich he needs now.
-I see someone who has joined my team, he has alot of expierience!
->yeh he knows alot! he probably doesnt make things wrong anymore.
-> true, though he still lacks at some improved skills
so if you ask like this : Skills > Exp.
expierience would own in only one way, only if you having a job at a special category or with a special application. so you can work faster and better withouth making many or any Wrongs.
example:
If i would search for a job..... i would be accepted, though i would need soem time to get used to the 3dsm application because i dont know alot in it.
thats why people search for people who have expierience in those applications/engines.