APC AON Preparation Assessment

Aon, the same company that builds and delivers the Pilot assessments for Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, and many more Airlines and approved training organisations (ATOs), are a global player within the aviation industry and assess thousands of Pilots every year. Aon has worked with over 100 Airlines and flight training schools, including 5 of the 7 largest Airlines in the world and so are experts in this field.

The assessments for Pilot roles have been created based on job analysis of core skills in the Pilot role as well as the critical skills summarised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines.

The Aon Pilot assessment suite has been designed and scientifically validated by psychologists who have extensive experience in aviation – a pre-requisite of the European Union Regulation CAT.GEN.MPA.175 requirements.

The Aon assessments are used to assess thousands of Pilots, the assessment results have been analysed and found to positively predict Airline or ATO assessment centre and Simulator performance in Airline selection systems.

Some of the key behaviours which predict Simulator performance include abiding by SOPs (safety focus), making decisions as a team rather than individually (teamwork & communication) and drive (motivation) are all strong predictors of Simulator performance.

Given the pedigree and data which support these “indicative” assessments, we can say they predict potential and capability to work and operate as a Pilot.

See table below which shows the mapping of Preparation Assessment to IATA requirements.

As the assessment is an indicator of potential success, it focuses on a portion of the critical skills to make an inference and indicator of potential future suitability as a Pilot.

The Preparation Assessment suite includes assessments that measure multi-tasking ability, applied numeracy, and personality.

These assessments capture approx. 50% of core pilot capabilities and measure personality traits / characteristics.

If participants pass the Preparation Assessment, then they are passing some of the core criteria of the wider pilot suite and are likely to have a better probability of passing training.

All the assessments within the Preparation Assessment suite are deemed critical skills, and so we should not look to prioritise performance in one over another.

The tests map directly to IATA and EASA requirements.

Pilots are required to have the right blend of core capabilities (such as multi-tasking), skills (such as applied numeracy & language proficiency) & personality to ensure success in the role, which is why these elements are measured.

Some of the aspects measured can be improved (such as applied numeracy & language proficiency) as they are learned skills.

Others are much harder to improve such as multi-tasking or personality as these are ingrained traits.

The purpose of the assessments in the IA suite is not to evaluate whether participants can apply for a role now, but instead indicates any immediate risks and acts as career guidance.

The participants are also provided with an opportunity to improve before making a career decision.

Your Report will be emailed to you after you have completed the last element of the assessment.

The Report will give you an overall result, which will indicate your readiness to start your training to become an Airline Pilot. There are three possible results:

• Ready
• Almost Ready
• Not Yet Ready

If you fall into the ‘not yet ready’ category, this means that you will need significant development in some, or all, of the areas assessed to reach the standard required, as you have not met the minimum criteria needed for success.

Action will need to be taken to develop in these areas and improve your chances of success in the role of a Pilot. It may be best to reflect if this is the best career choice for you.

If you fall into the ‘almost ready’ category, this means that it is likely that you are meeting the standard in some areas but not meeting the standard in other areas, and therefore some development is required.

You will need to focus on the areas that are identified in the Report where improvement is needed to increase the probability of success as a Pilot.

The APC Pathway to Pilot Competence is designed to assist you in improving in these areas. Understanding the content of the pathway course will give you great insight into the Human Factors and Pilot Competencies that are make up a successful Airline Pilot.

If you fall into the ‘ready’ category, this means that you appear to have the right blend of ability, behaviour and innate capability measured within the shortened assessment suite.

It also means that there are no immediate risks identified, and that there is a higher probability of success.

Remember, assessment scores are based on the laws of probability and some core abilities are not measured. But the probability of someone not passing training should be at the lowest within this category.

Assessment scores are based on the laws of probability, and therefore there is a greater probability for success if you achieve a ‘ready’ result

After you receive your result, you should complete the APC Pathway to Pilot Competence e-learning course and continue to build your APC Pilot Profile.

No, the Preparation Assessment does not assess English language. You must have at least ICAO Level 4 English Language Proficiency before you can attain a Commercial Pilot Licence.