With the number of University students rising year by year, employers are now claiming that a degree does not give a reliable indication of a potential employee's skills. Many firms and businesses are now using pyschometric tests to judge the ability of a potential employee.
A survey of 200 firms has shown that many employers believe degrees to be devalued and not a reliable indication of a potential employee's numerical and reasoning skills. Because of this, many firms and businesses are introducing so called "pyschometric tests" that are designed to assess a student's logic, maturity and "soft skills", such as communication and leadership.
The report of the survey claims that, "...the days of academic criteria as the be-all and end-all are long gone." It the followed by stating that, "...pyschometric testing is becoming a significant part of the graduate recruitment." These claims are certainly supported in the survey itself, as 92% of employers say that the pyschometric tests were a very useful tool for the recruitment process.
However, students do not seem so keen. Although roughly 70% of students say that they would not mind, 20% say that they would be discouraged for applying to a position where the application process involved the new tests and only 10% are not sure.
So what does the future hold for postgraduates getting into the recruitment process? At the moment it is uncertain but pyschometric tests certainly appear to impress many employers and are becoming a much larger part of recruitment.