Civil Service Verbal test

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqCdDYoKYr0  
The question is in the video at runtime 1:00 
Answer the question using information in the passage only.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the UK's largest charity that saves lives at sea. Mostly all the members of the RNLI are unpaid volunteers. RNLI lifeguards operate on more than 200 beaches. Lifeguards are paid by local authorities, whilst the RNLI pays for equipment and training. 

Tower lifeboat station on the River Thames, was the busiest station in 2013; rescuing 372 people and saving 25 lives.  The RNLI not only provides life saving services but also offers advice on beach safety to at risk groups such as kayakers, divers or anglers. Since being founded in 1824, the charity has saved over 140,000 people. 

The RNLI splits its focus between preventative measures, such as training, and emergency responses at sea. 

  • TRUE
  • FALSE
  • CANNOT SAY  
I believe the answer is "cannot say" because we don't know if the RNLI focuses on anything else such as equipment design or fund raisng or anything else. 
What do you think? 
I also don't like the placement of the commas in the last sentence.

Last time I did a Civil Service practice test on Gov.uk  it was not verbal reasoning but were something about Office Management and the questions went something like this:
Jane asks Gareth for advice because Jim had been saying their manager John is a drunkard and Jim should not be saying things like this in the office. 
What should Gareth tell Jane to do? 
  • Consult with a manager about Jim
  • Speak to Jim to say it is not nice of him
  • She should ask her friend Carol if what Jim is saying is true as Carol knows everything.
Has the Civil Service recently changed their tests again and by the looks of it back to what it was before i.e. Verbal Reasoning?

Thanks

Comments

  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,486 Forumite
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    " The RNLI not only provides life saving services but also offers advice on beach safety to at risk groups such as kayakers, divers or anglers."  That clearly indicates that RNLI splits its focus.  The instruction says "Answer the question using information in the passage only." 
    It is a test of the ability to read and interpret questions and instructions correctly.
    I would certainly not advise you to work on the basis of a test taken a couple of years ago.
  • xxxxxxxx
    xxxxxxxx Posts: 425 Forumite
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    But also "advice" is not "training" 
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,486 Forumite
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    The statement does say that RNLI focusses solely on those element.  Be careful of overthinking the problem.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,028 Forumite
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    The wording is "such as training". So advice would fall under "such as", surely?

    Answer true?
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,092 Forumite
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    CS isn't looking for overthinkers. Its focus doesn't imply 100% of its resources. It's obvious what answer they are seeking.

    Also Gareth should tell Jane to torch the office. 
  • MACKEM99
    MACKEM99 Posts: 903 Forumite
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    Or get on with her work and stop spreading gossip.
    :smiley:
  • xxxxxxxx
    xxxxxxxx Posts: 425 Forumite
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    edited 29 March 2021 at 1:07AM
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    It was the Civil Service Judgement Test which I was recalling about office gossip and they are still doing the same test in addition to the verbal reasoning test.

      
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
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    edited 28 March 2021 at 9:20PM
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    Don't you think that the answer is in the passage? : " The RNLI not only provides life saving services but also offers advice on beach safety to at risk groups such as kayakers, divers or anglers." So I would say the answer is true.

    I would also surmise (rightly or wrongly) that 'cannot say' is an answer that they would not approve of because they want pro-active people who can problem-solve. But that's just me.

    The worst thing about getting a civil service job is actually getting a job. After that you're home free! (In my experience . . . )

    As for Jane, John, Gareth and Jim, Jane should mind her own business as she's obviously not in charge and she's just listening to hearsay/gossip. When she's the big honcho, she can have her say. 
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • xxxxxxxx
    xxxxxxxx Posts: 425 Forumite
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    edited 29 March 2021 at 10:18AM
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    If Civil Service and other companies are using these tests to determine eligibility and by default are refusing people a job because of them.  Then surely the results can be legally challenged and we must all be entitled to know which questions we got wrong and what the "correct" answers were so that the result can be challenged in court.  There is a disclaimer at the start saying you won't hold the creators liable for the use of the test.  The legality of this disclamer is questionable IMHO, but it certainly does not stop you from going after the employer.  Has anyone done this?  



    For the record I passed both tests with over 80%   but a lot of this was entirely open to interpretation the way some statements were written in the judgement test was awful.  
    Some of them were: 
    "I build Rapport with people very quickly"   completely agree, strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree, completely disagree.  
    That the employer is deciding whether to employ you based on your response - I think this is ridiculous.
    A good rapport? A bad rapport?  with all people? how many people? +50% or 2% of people ?

    "I stick to what I know to avoid making mistakes"
    This could mean I don't question anything. I think I know what I am doing and I carry on doing it without question. Hence "completely agree = very bad practice" 
    Or it could mean I question everything I do, I do research to ensure what I have been told to do is correct and in doing so I learn new things but at the end of the day I only put it in to practice when I know I am right. Hence "completely agree = very good practice" 

    I am never satisfied with average performance
    Average performance in making errors 50% of the time = very bad  where the performance metric is how much error is made.
    Average performance in completing cases per day but every case completed is 100% correct = very good where the performance metric is how many cases are cleared per day. 


    For the verbal test on the previous DWP test (years ago) I scored 99%  I was satisfied I knew the answers to every question.  But on this new verbal test the questions are not written to be clear cut there is a lot of ambiguity in them hence I did not score 99% this time around, I was very disappointed.

    That companies are able to discard applicants on such flawed tests and no one is questioning the validity of this practice concerns me very much.

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