Private Driver Assessment Test

[felixflyer]

Hi

What are the current options for getting private assessment test certificates rather than as part of an application?

I contacted the OPC who say they don't do it. RCG website says they do but doesn't show any dates as being available. I know How2Become do it for around £1000 but just interested in the alternatives.

Also, I'd be interested to hear from anyone that has done it via H2B and any feedback.

I know I can do it as part of an application but I'd rather just get it done privately.

Regards

 

[klkl]

What advantage to you perceive doing the psychometrics privately will confer? Or what motivates you to do it privately? It's a pretty unusual step to take.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

No point doing it privately as doesn’t give you an advantage. Still have to apply for a trainee driver role and go through the application process. Literally biggest waste of money

 

[felixflyer]

I know it won't give me any advantage in terms of the application. I want to do it for my own reasons.

 

[klkl]

If you just like taking tests there are cheaper outlets for that

 

[Terry844]

From understanding if you do go privately and fail, that is still a life gone and the usual restrictions still apply (not able to retake the tests within 6 months) so you wouldn’t be getting a “free go” in that sense

 

[NSEWonderer]

The only possible advantage which I have seen is that some companies will process you faster assuming ofc you pass the DMI(when fastracked to it). Some freight companies also require passes already obtained.

Others are correct in saying however that the advantage is quite small when factoring risk of possible failure and also being sifted thru the applications is still not a given initially even with passes till you reach the assessment stage.

End of the day it's all about risk factor and what you ultimately feel. If you want them instantly done then yes you pay a price with a big risk, if you don't then you wait for sometime but do them free.

Some will also add that the extra cost involved in privates may add a factor of pressure as you've spent money to do them. Imo whether you do them free or private the pressure will be there as even with a TOC paid assessment center you've invested time which will ultimately put pressure on you to make sure you get thru after getting so far.

Best of luck whatever you choose.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

Some companies also require enchanted pass. So you may do it, pass but not reach the standard required and you wouldn’t know then have to resit them all anyway and some also have extra assessments which again you’d have to sit anyway.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Aug 2023 ==

Some companies also require enchanted pass. So you may do it, pass but not reach the standard required and you wouldn’t know then have to resit them all anyway and some also have extra assessments which again you’d have to sit anyway.

Enhanced *

 

[Carl98k]

I know it won't give me any advantage in terms of the application. I want to do it for my own reasons.

A guy on my course paid to do them privately, it definitely helped secure him a job.

 

[Spincity]

A guy on my course paid to do them privately, it definitely helped secure him a job.

Why did it help?. Surely he would have applied at the same time as others, still done the DMI at the same time. Apart from spending £££££ on the assessment that others got for free I’m struggling to see a benefit to get a job.

 

[felixflyer]

In my case, it's more about knowing I will be able to secure a job in what will be a major career change. There will be certain sacrifices made and some planning for the future required and it will be nice to have one of the major hurdles done before going any further down this route. If I fail it twice then the whole thing is ruled out and I'd rather know sooner than later.

 

[Carl98k]

Why did it help?. Surely he would have applied at the same time as others, still done the DMI at the same time. Apart from spending £££££ on the assessment that others got for free I’m struggling to see a benefit to get a job.

Because like many of us, he’d applied for TOCs and nothing came of it. So he saw a FOC was advertising for trainee drivers, but needed to have passed psychometric tests. He paid for them privately and got the job. I’d passed my with a TOC and waited over year with no communication from them.

As you can see, the tests were a massive benefit for the guy in question. Each to their own, but if you’re applying and not getting anywhere then this could be an option. I know that guy was on my course said it’s the best choice he made.

 

[skyhigh]

In my case, it's more about knowing I will be able to secure a job in what will be a major career change.

Sorry but there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get a job even if you hold a pass in the psychometric tests.

 

[felixflyer]

Sorry but there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get a job even if you hold a pass in the psychometric tests.

There is however a guarantee that I won't get a job if I don't pass them.

I didn't want this to be a debate about whether or not to do it. People have all sorts of different reasons. Especially those of us changing careers who may need to make significant changes and have family support. I really wanted to know the options of where to do it and any feedback.

 

[NSEWonderer]

Why did it help?. Surely he would have applied at the same time as others, still done the DMI at the same time. Apart from spending £££££ on the assessment that others got for free I’m struggling to see a benefit to get a job.

More so he skipped the assessment day and went to the dmi. Many others have been left at the waiting for assessment stage and heard nothing back since of which that TOC has taken those who have already banked passes that meet the requirements straight thru to the DMI along with the remaining few newly assesment center passees.

Agreed one still has to pass the DMI but having passes already can fastrack people thru to final stages, I've personally had 3 people this has benefited abiet only 1 of them doing private and the other two had passes from other TOCs

Imo whether you pay or not you're risking something. If you pay to do the testing and you pass and eventually get the job with those passes and hopefully post qualify as a driver then that cost was a drop in the ocean. If you fail then yes it will hurt for a while but that won't be any majorly more than failing the TOC sponsored assessment center either.

 

[baz962]

O

Sorry but there is absolutely no guarantee that you will get a job even if you hold a pass in the psychometric test

Of course. However I was applying for around eight years before I got invited to assessment. I passed them all to enhanced but didn't get the job at the dmi. After that though I started applying everywhere and I got put straight through to dmi with two Toc's within two months of applying and then offered a dmi at a third while training with one of the first two. I made sure I squeezed in the applications that I had the passes .
From eight years to get invited to assessment and once having the passes , four dmi offers in a year. I'm convinced that having the passes bumped me up the initial sifting at the very least.

 

[Terry844]

There is however a guarantee that I won't get a job if I don't pass them.

I didn't want this to be a debate about whether or not to do it. People have all sorts of different reasons. Especially those of us changing careers who may need to make significant changes and have family support. I really wanted to know the options of where to do it and any feedback.

I understand that reason but I will say, if you look on these forums you will see post after post of people going through the recruitment process, passing the tests and then sitting in talent pools for eternity and some even having their tests time out. The recruitment process is long and you are talking about having to sort your affairs out in relation to a change in career. I would advise to just start planning for a change, start saving if need be so you have a pot of money to tide you over while you are going through the training that money saved for not paying for the tests yourself will help and in the meantime just apply for the trainee drivers jobs that come up and even then as you are going through the recruitment it could take several months to several years before you even start the training so still plenty of time to sort your life out so to speak

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

There is however a guarantee that I won't get a job if I don't pass them.

I didn't want this to be a debate about whether or not to do it. People have all sorts of different reasons. Especially those of us changing careers who may need to make significant changes and have family support. I really wanted to know the options of where to do it and any feedback.

There’s also no guarantee you’ll pass the initial application sift even with assessments passed. And if you do pass the sift then you’ll end up sitting the assessments anyway and potentially doing more then you’ll be in the exact same position you would be having done it privately. Just trying to advise rather than paying a massively inflated price to be assessed when it can be free

 

[AverageJoe]

Worth keeping in mind that he hasn’t asked for advice on whether to do it or not but has asked where and how he can do it.

I’m sure he has considered the costs and pro’s and cons of it.

 

[NSEWonderer]

Worth keeping in mind that he hasn’t asked for advice on whether to do it or not but has asked where and how he can do it.

I’m sure he has considered the costs and pro’s and cons of it.

This is true

 

[Spincity]

More so he skipped the assessment day and went to the dmi. Many others have been left at the waiting for assessment stage and heard nothing back since of which that TOC has taken those who have already banked passes that meet the requirements straight thru to the DMI along with the remaining few newly assesment center passees.

Agreed one still has to pass the DMI but having passes already can fastrack people thru to final stages, I've personally had 3 people this has benefited abiet only 1 of them doing private and the other two had passes from other TOCs

Imo whether you pay or not you're risking something. If you pay to do the testing and you pass and eventually get the job with those passes and hopefully post qualify as a driver then that cost was a drop in the ocean. If you fail then yes it will hurt for a while but that won't be any majorly more than failing the TOC sponsored assessment center either.

As long as the candidates know what the standard of the TOC is they may be using the private results to apply to. I see no point paying ££££ for a private assessment, often sold as this will be entry into TOCs, only to then find out that additional tests are required, and the person has not got what they paid for. Personally not an issue if someone wants to go private to get an assessment, but make sure you ask the correct questions

 

[NSEWonderer]

As long as the candidates know what the standard of the TOC is they may be using the private results to apply to. I see no point paying ££££ for a private assessment, often sold as this will be entry into TOCs, only to then find out that additional tests are required, and the person has not got what they paid for. Personally not an issue if someone wants to go private to get an assessment, but make sure you ask the correct questions

Indeed

 

[Gemz91]

I assume if you do them privately you still get the practice papers through? My toc sent me the practice papers for assessments.

 

[NSEWonderer]

I assume if you do them privately you still get the practice papers through? My toc sent me the practice papers for assessments.

I assume so if its with the HOW2Become and the Manchester based company as that was what I was told by a buddy which they mentioned was part of the preparation phase before sitting the Private tests. Note they made it very clear to the Private testing company that they required Enhanced testing for the specific toc, the private testing company was able to check the database for the upto date requirements for that specific TOC and had them then take those specific tests.

 

[Horizon22]

In my case, it's more about knowing I will be able to secure a job in what will be a major career change. There will be certain sacrifices made and some planning for the future required and it will be nice to have one of the major hurdles done before going any further down this route. If I fail it twice then the whole thing is ruled out and I'd rather know sooner than later.

Whilst I can appreciate this, you still may not get through an initial sift, a CV check, video interviews and other stages. You might be paying a considerable amount of money for something that may not even be relevant or be able to be utilised. Considering how seriously competitve trainee driver roles can be and the fact that, if you are good enough, you will be sent to do these tests for £0 anyway I would certainly urge you to really think about what could be a significant expense.

Not to mention with a "major career change" you might be on hold for months or even years anyway even if you are successful as recruitment can trickle very slowly.

 

[AverageJoe]

Whilst I can appreciate this, you still may not get through an initial sift, a CV check, video interviews and other stages. You might be paying a considerable amount of money for something that may not even be relevant or be able to be utilised. Considering how seriously competitve trainee driver roles can be and the fact that, if you are good enough, you will be sent to do these tests for £0 anyway I would certainly urge you to really think about what could be a significant expense.

Not to mention with a "major career change" you might be on hold for months or even years anyway even if you are successful as recruitment can trickle very slowly.

Don’t they expire after around 5 years?
If that is the case someone could pay a lot of money and pass, but not be offered a job within the timeframe and they expire anyway.

Then the same person could take them again and fail.

 

[Horizon22]

Don’t they expire after around 5 years?
If that is the case someone could pay a lot of money and pass, but not be offered a job within the timeframe and they expire anyway.

Then the same person could take them again and fail.

Yes there is also the time expiry element.

 

[LCC106]

Have you contacted RCG themselves? Someone seemed to think the cost was around £500 last year, so £1000 sounds a lot!

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...c-psychometric-assesment.237296/#post-5855595

I echo what others have said above though and would suggest you really think it through before spending hard earned money that way.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

Have you contacted RCG themselves? Someone seemed to think the cost was around £500 last year, so £1000 sounds a lot!

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...c-psychometric-assesment.237296/#post-5855595

I echo what others have said above though and would suggest you really think it through before spending hard earned money that way.

Edit to add I’m not great with linking posts on here! Sorry mods!

£500 is also a lot! All I paid was fuel to get there

 

[klkl]

£500 is also a lot! All I paid was fuel to get there

The hotel room (at the hotel where the tests were taken) was invaluable.

Cannot overstate how much a stress free start to the day makes a positive impact on performance.