Originally Posted by
olly
Don't know the official wash out rate from the test, but a candidate that I recommended (someone else sponsored), SH dude of course, got weeded out by the test.
An officer & a gentleman, great pilot, great demeanor, would have been a pleasure to have as a crewmember in any role, SO, RFO, FO, CAP.
This new testing process appears to be having unintended consequences. From his debrief of the tests- they do not seem to capture inherent professional aviation knowledge, nor personal traits and characteristics that make up a "good" professional airline transport pilot.
IMHO, let the human element, line pilots, flt ops pers make the determination of a keeper or not, then run the testing, to make sure that they are not a complete moron.
I'd heard of other airlines using this process, letting the humans decide, then having an objective "test" CONTRIBUTE to a final decision resultin in hiring the "right" type of guys.
Some "cognitive" test doesn't capture a candidates instrument scan ability, or real skills like cockpit prioritization and multi-tasking aviating, navigating & communicating.
Every organization has the inidividuals that everyone wonders how they got hired, but weeding out the "type" of guy FDX wants by a test may not be the most effective. FDX is not looking for aviation trainees-a cog test might be good for initial mil pilots or initial fligt school -in a data driven predictor model of flight school success. FDX wants highly experienced pilots, that have good CRM skills, a breadth & depth of practical experience, and are fluent in the art of aviate, navigate, communicate. The candidate pool is deep enough such that HR should be able to "pick" candidates that have a proven training success- most expereinced pilots have successfully trained & qualified in multiple different platforms- a cog test is probably not the right discriminator if he can be trained on the MD- 75, 72 etc, if the guy already has X,000 hours in multiple platforms, or has X,000 hrs PIC.
Hopefully FLT Ops & HR can figure this out.
Olly,
Great common sense post, but I'm afraid the legal dept tail may be wagging the dog. I suppose they feel they can defend against lawsuits, if objective hiring data is used......just my guess.
To support your position, DAL doesn't even use a sim check. They assume you are a competent airman at this point. DAL does use the dreaded Cog Skill test to check for any injury or degradation of those previously demonstrated flying skills.
It is a huge disservice to FDX and the individual applicant if they are cut unnessarily.
Regards,
BG