Pre-Test Information Booklet

Administrative Officer 2016

Stage 1

This is an important document so please set some time aside to read it in advance of the test session.

©Public Appointments ServicePage 1

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your application for Administrative Officerin the Civil Service.

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is committed to the principles of good recruitment practice and these principles involve fair and impartial selection. The processthis competition will comprise several stages. This first stage consists of assessment tests devised to measure key skills and attributes required to perform in the role.

As previously outlined in the Information Booklet for candidates, you will take these tests online and in an unsupervised environment.

The purpose of this pre-test information material is to help you to understand this stage of the selection process and introduce you to the format of the assessment tests. Work through this information carefully as it will help you understand what you have to do and what you can expect during this stage of the process. You can also expect the actual tests to be more difficult than the practice tests. It will also ensure that you are prepared to perform to the best of your ability.

Information on subsequent stages of the selection process for each competition will be made available to the candidates who are invited to progress.

PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS SERVICE

October, 2016

©Public Appointments Service, 2016

The reproduction of any part of this document by any process whatsoever is breaking copyright law.

Overview

To facilitate candidates the initial selection stage will be conducted online in an unsupervised environment. Therefore you will require a PC or laptop to complete the tests.

This stage will comprisethree assessments:
1)VerbalReasoning,
2) Numerical Reasoning, and
3) Assessment Questionnaire.

There will be a set time window (details below) during which you must complete the three assessments. You are strongly advised to complete all of your assessmentsearlyin the testing window.

Our test providers are cut-e for the Verbal Analysis and Numerical Analysis tests and Creighton Hooper for the Assessment Questionnaire. During the testing window helpdesk facilities will be available from the test provider to deal with any technical issues you may have while taking the tests (Helpdesk details below).

Candidates must reach the required standard in all three tests. Those who achieve the required standard will be ranked accordingly. Only those who qualify and are placed highest at Stage 1 will be invited to Stage 2. However, the number to be invited forward will be determined from time to time, having regard to the likely vacancies to be filled.

Qualification at Stage 1 is no guarantee that a candidate will be invited to Stage 2 or subsequent stages.
Please note that while candidates complete these assessment tests online in an unsupervised environment, those who qualify and are placed highest on the order of merit may be required to sit similar tests in a supervised environment at a later stage in the process. It is important to note that your performance in the supervised tests will be compared with your Stage 1 results and tested for consistency. If your level of inconsistency is of significant magnitude, you will not be invited to the next stage.

Preparing to take the tests
Candidates should note that:

you may take the tests in a venue of your choice wherever you have access to a computer and a reliable internet connection;

taking these tests within a secure IT network e.g. such as your workplace or college network which may have firewalls or other security technology in place, may cause you technical difficulties. In such instances PAS (or any company or service provider operating on behalf of PAS) will not be liable;

as the tests will require your full concentration, please ensure that you take the tests in a quiet environment, where there are no distractions and where you will not be disturbed;
you are advised to take the tests on a PC or laptop and to use a mouse you are familiar with. Do not attempt to take the tests on a smart phone, mobile or tablet device;
you must close down all other applications except for your browser windows and internet connection, and stop all other activity on your computer e.g. printing could cause the assessment/tests to terminate;
further information on the PC /Laptop requirements to take the tests is provided at Appendix 1 at the end of this document;
during the period of the tests, email support facilities will be available from the test providers to deal with any technical issues you may have in relation to theirtests.

Honesty Contract
Integrity and honesty are key values within the Civil and Public Service. As potential employees you are expected to honour these values, both in how you approach this competition and by agreeing to follow the rules and procedures laid down. By taking part in the selection process, you are confirming that you are the person named on the application and you agree to complete the tests honestly and without assistance. A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process. Your attention is drawn to the important information set out in Appendix 2. By accessing or attempting any assessment/test materials you are agreeing to be bound by the terms set out.

Stage 1: Selection Tests

Before the Actual Tests
You will receive a message to your publicjobs Message Board containing a link and your login details. This link will be sent to you no later than Thursday 20th October, 2016. If you do not receive them by this date please email

Testing Window
You must complete all three tests no later thannoon onTuesday 25th October, 2016

You are strongly advised to give yourself sufficient time and not wait until the final hours of the testing deadline to take the tests. No time extensions will be given.

Please note that you must NOT change your email address during the selection process. The PAS will not be responsible for non-delivery of messages to any new/revised email addresses you may provide.

Helpdesk support fortheassessment tests

In the unlikely event that you experience any difficulties, you should contact the test providers’ technical support help desks:

Helpdesk Support Information Only
Support will be available during office hours
for
Verbal Analysis
and
Numerical Analysis tests only
contact

for
Assessment Questionnaire
contact

The Tests

The testscomprisethree separate elements:

Verbal Reasoning(12 minutes time limit)
Numerical Reasoning (12 minutes time limit)
Assessment Questionnaire (no set time limit, however it is estimated it will take approx 40 minutes to complete)

Remember you will receive your three tests through two separate links to your publicjobs Message Board. You must attempt all three tests; if you do not take all three tests you will be deemed to have withdrawn from this campaign.

These tests, including instructions and examples, will take you approximately 120 minutes to complete. You should therefore set aside sufficient time to allow you to read the instructions, do the examples and take the actual tests.

Verbal & Numerical Analysis tests

The onlineVerbal and Numerical tests are timed tests.Due to the advances of online testing, the scoring of assessments has become more complex. It is suggested that you do the tests quickly and accurately and avoid wild guessing.
During the actual test, you must NOT:

Click the “back” button on your browser
Press F5 on your keyboard
Refresh your browser page

If you do, your test will be invalidated, you will be unable to finish and your responses will not be saved.

Preparation & Practice Material
We strongly recommend that you read the onlinePreparation Guidesfor the Verbal and Numerical tests very carefully, then complete the examples and the timed practice tests. This will help you understand what you have to do before you undertake the actual tests.

The practice tests are designed to give you an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the type of questions you can expect to face in the real test. They are similar in structure and format to the actual tests but remember the number of practice questions is less than the number of questions on the real test.

To access thepractice testslog on to

Verbal Reasoning Test
This test checks your ability to understand, analyse and evaluate data from written information/ text.In this test you will be presented with statements that need to be evaluated against information provided within a number of tabbed data sheets. The data sheets can be displayed by clicking on the respective data sheet title.

Your task is to evaluate the validity of each statement based only on the information provided in the data sheets.

Select TRUE if the statement must be true based on the information in the sheets.
Select FALSE if the statement is definitely false given the information in the sheets.
Select CANNOT SAY if you cannot say whether the statement is true or false without further information.

Base your answers only on the information given in the data sheets. After each question there are a number of different answer options. There is one, and only one, correct answer to each question. Click on the answer that you think is correct. When a response has been selected click the ‘next’ button on the bottom right hand of the screen to go on to the next question.

You will have 12 minutes to answer the 49 items in this test.

Please note – the practice test has 6 questions to complete in 3 minutes.

Numerical Reasoning Test

This test measures your ability to select relevant information and draw logical conclusions from complex numerical information.

You will be presented with statements that need to be evaluated against a number of data sheets. These are accessed via labelled tabs. Your task is to evaluate the validity of each statement based only on the information provided in the data sheets.

Select TRUE if the statement must be true based on the information in the sheets.
Select FALSE if the statement is definitely false given the information in the sheets.
Select CANNOT SAY if you cannot say whether the statement is true or false without further information.

Before you start the test, you should have some rough work paper, a pen/pencil and a calculator to assist you.

You will have 12 minutes to answer the 37 questions in this test.

Please note – the practice test has 6 tasks to complete in 3 minutes.

Assessment Questionnaire

The AssessmentQuestionnaire is delivered and administered on behalf of PAS by Creighton Hooper. This AssessmentQuestionnairehas no set time limit but typically this Questionnaire should take you no longer than 40 minutes to complete, however you must complete and submit it within the set test window.

We strongly recommend that you complete the questionnaire in one sitting in a quiet environment with no distractions, which will allow you to give your full attention to the questions. You must complete all of the questions in each part.

Answers are stored once you have completed a page and clicked ‘next’. If you unexpectedly end your testing session mid-assessment, you can log back in and complete the questionnaire. When you have completed the questionnaire, click ‘Submit’ and the following message will be displayed ‘Your responses have been successfully submitted’.

General Information

Those to be invited to the next stageof the selection process will be called on the basis of their results at Stage 1. The number of candidates to be invited will be determined bythe Public Appointments Service (PAS) from time to time having regard to the number of vacancies to be filled. PAS will notify those to be invited to Stage 2.
Candidates should note that test scores attained at any stage in this campaign may carry forward, should they apply for subsequent similar campaigns run by the Public Appointments Service within 12 months.
All test materials and content are subject to copyright and all rights are reserved.
Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003:
Records created is subject to the rights and obligations set out in the Data Protection Acts, 1988 & 2003. Where the services of a third party are used and there is a requirement to provide them with information, all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the security of your data.
All other queries regarding the selection process should be emailed to

Appendix 1

PC/Laptop Minimum Specification Requirements

The following hardware and software is recommended

Internet

768 kbps DSL (or faster) Internet connection (56 Kbps minimum)

Browser & Operating system

The following browser and operating system combinations are supported.

I.E. 8.0 (and higher) – Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003 & 2008, Vista and Windows 7 and Windows 8
Firefox 4.0 (and higher)– Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003 & 2008, Vista and Windows 7 and Windows 8
Chrome 11 (and higher)

Additional software

Adobe Flash Plug-in version 9

In addition to that, the following combinations of browser and operating system is blocked (relevant for mapTQ):

IE 11 on Windows 10.0 for Flash
IE 10 for smartplayer

Appendix 2
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Terms and Conditions
Your attention is drawn to this important information. By accessing or attempting any assessment / test materials you are agreeing to be bound by the terms set out below.

All test and assessment materials are subject to copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of the tests/ assessment materials (including any text, questions and/or potential answer options) or associated materials (including practice and/ or familiarisation materials) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, printing, photographing, recording, written or otherwise, at any stage. To do so is an offence and may result in you being excluded from the selection process. Any person(s) who contravenes this provision, whether an applicant or other, or who assists another person(s) in contravening this provision, is liable to prosecution and/ or civil suit for loss of copyright and intellectual property.
Your attention is drawn the Commission for Public Service Appointment’s Code of Practice for Appointment to Positions in the Civil Service and Public Service. In particular please note Section 5 - Responsibility of Candidates (see below).

Canvassing
Candidates should note that canvassing will disqualify them and will result in their exclusion from the appointments process.
Candidates’ obligations
Candidates in the recruitment process must not:

Knowingly or recklessly provide false information
Canvass any person, with or without inducements
Interfere with or compromise the process in any way.

A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process.
Penalties for failure to comply
Any person who contravenes the above provisions, or who assists another person in contravening the above provisions is guilty of an offence. A person who is found guilty of an offence is liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.
If a person found guilty of such an offence was or is a candidate in a recruitment process, then:

Where he/she has not been appointed to a post, he/she will be disqualified as a candidate
Where he/she has been appointed subsequent to the recruitment process in question, he/she

shall forfeit that appointment.

The admission of a person to the competition, or invitation to undertake any element of the selection process is not to be taken as implying that the Public Appointments Service is satisfied that such a person fulfils the essential requirements.