OPC Assessment’s Innovative Tools to Support Apprentice Recruitment
Background
Organisations across various industries can struggle to identify and recruit suitable apprentice talent. The OPC and OPC Assessment offer effective solutions, by providing successful tailored apprenticeship selection processes. Through innovative, reliable assessment tools and practical tests they can help streamline the evaluation of key competencies.
The challenge
Recently, OPC psychologists worked alongside an Irish bus company, to help redesign their Heavy Vehicle Mechanic Apprenticeship (HVMA) selection process, aiming to improve diversity and inclusion. The goal was to address the underrepresentation of women and attract apprentices from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. Additionally, they wanted to gather candidate feedback on the redesigned process. The challenge lay in identifying candidates with the required foundational skills and practical abilities to succeed in roles like engineering, and mechanics amidst rising demand for skilled apprentices.
A redesigned process
OPC Assessment recommended the Core Skills Series hosted via CandelaTM, their user-friendly online testing platform. These 6 assessment tools specifically assess an applicants’ numerical, verbal, abstract, diagrammatic, spatial, and mechanical reasoning abilities. They offer helpful insights key for roles like engineering apprenticeships that require problem-solving capabilities. The client implemented most of the Core Series tests:
- Core Skills Abstract Reasoning Test (CoreA)
- Core Skills Diagrammatic Reasoning Test (CoreD)
- Core Skills Mechanical Reasoning Test (CoreM)
- Core Skills Numerical Test (CoreN)
- Core Skills Spatial Reasoning Test (CoreS)
- Core Skills Verbal Test (CoreV)
Additionally, OPC Assessment also developed a bespoke, online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) to assess if a candidate’s key characteristics, attitudes and behaviours were a good match for an outstanding bus mechanic apprentice. New practical assessments were created to evaluate candidates' practical abilities using real-world work scenarios, allowing them to showcase valuable skills beyond academic performance. Practice materials were provided before testing to help familiarise applicants with the tools, and to support them to do their best on the day. Finally, a bespoke interview was also designed along with an interview preparation form to enable candidates to prepare effectively for the interview beforehand.
"The practical assessments offered a different approach to evaluating aptitude and talent. Candidates who may not have excelled academically, in other assessments or in an interview demonstrated remarkable proficiency when faced with these tests."
An Apprenticeships Manager
OPC psychologists conducted a full review and analysis of candidate compliance and online tests completion, drop-off rates, attendance at interviews, with a correlation to success through the process. They also completed candidate experience research on the new process which you can read more about here.
Outcomes
Compared to applications continuing to decline, the client received 240% more applications than the previous year with more than 7% of them female, this resulted in 16% female hires in the final recruitment line up.
Over 50% of candidates completed all six online core series tests. Candidates who completed these tests were more inclined to proceed to the subsequent selection stages. In contrast, those who didn't complete the initial tests were less likely to continue with the process. The OPC observed that the online tools were acting as an effective self-screening mechanism, helping to identify individuals who were much more motivated to invest time in the selection process and potentially pursue a 4-year apprenticeship.
The redesigned process including the online assessment tools and practical tests helped to meet the client’s inclusivity and diversity goal, as well as transform their apprentice recruitment process.
"OPC Assessment's Core Skills Series and practical assessments help provide valuable insights into candidates' abilities, enabling organisations to make better-informed recruiting decisions. These innovative assessment tools can not only help organisations identify top apprentice talent but they can also contribute to improving inclusivity and diversity in the recruitment process; helping to build more diverse and inclusive teams."
Jo Lawrence, Business Development Director at the OPC
Want to know more?
For more information about the Core Skills Series or how we can support your apprenticeship recruitment goals, get in touch with our friendly OPC Assessment team.
You can explore more about the successful use of these tools in recruitment processes in these news stories: