The need for technical tests when hiring software developers (of mid-junior experience) is a sign of 2 things:
1) The industry is not regulated and does not have the backing of professional certification authorities to enter the industry, which would largely negate the need for the rudimentary testing we see across the board today.
2) Our education institutions (e.g. universities) are failing when their name and reputation is not enough to get the “average” candidate through the door without the need for additional testing (not talking about the FAANGs of the world).
(Speaking primarily from observation in Australia.)
Do we need regulation and accredited certification in the software industry? Hell yeah!
The software industry might only be a a handful of decades old at this point, but the exponential impact software developers have on the world means we can’t wait the 500 years other accredited industries have had to see people requiring accreditation before they can practise the craft.