I've worked at companies that do aptitude testing and also at those who don't. I can't say that I detect a noticable diffence in the on-the-job performance of those who were successful in being employed in each instance. The HR people who devise these tests have spent several years at university studying somthing that is presumably of use in aircrew selection. Perhaps a HR person could write a posting to inform and educate us on this; I remain open minded.
In the world according to Anthill, rather than usingy arcane psychobabble testing (Do you think that pink is prettier than blue??) it really only needs to be determined in the candidate has the litteracy and numeracy skills for the job and has any discernable learning difficulties such as autism or dislexia. Beyond that, I fail to see any point for Myers Briggs or Transactional Analysis tests (apparently I have the "perfect" pilot profile* according to TA, but still didn't get past stage 1 at Qantas).
Good reading and comprehension skills, as well as numeracy skills, are essential for the job. Airlines should test to ensure candidates have at least these qualitites. For example, it is pointless to write a Policy and Procedures Manual if crew cannot correctly interpret the meaning and intent of the written words contained in its pages. It is extremely frustrating to try to apply, say, the fuel or duty time limit policy when you have to sit and explain to the other crew member what the policy actually means and allows.
Unfortunately I have met some pilots who can read but not comprehend. Further, pilots need to be able to comprehend and the apply a policy to a situation. For sound Human Factors reasons, pilots muct be functionally litterate as well as being able to count. There are a variety of ways that numeracy and litteracy can be assessed during pilot recruitment. Candidates can be presented with a complex MEL or Duty Time extension scenario and see how they perform. I support the idea that tests of this nature be used in a selection process.
(* the same TA profile for an "ideal" pilot is also the same for cops, nurses and paramedics: high 'parental' and 'adult' parameters combined with low scores in the 'child' dimension.
Last edited by Anthill; 11th Jan 2013 at 04:09.