Aviation Psychologist of Symbiotics, Emma Akhurst
Symbiotics’ Aviation Psychologist, Emma Akhurst, explains the benefits behind the human performance organisation’s assessments for the aviation sector.
This article was published in the June/July 2024 issue edition of LARA.
What prompted Symbiotics’ creation and provision of the ADAPT assessment?
We believe that accurate assessment is the cornerstone of people’s success, which is why we created ADAPT. ADAPT is our online assessment platform, providing an easy-to-use interface for candidate testing with comprehensive reporting. We offer a range of psychometric assessments, including aptitude tests, personality assessments and knowledgebased tests, along with associated training
and services. Our assessments are designed to measure competence across all levels of candidates within aviation, particularly flight crew.
We assess core competencies as defined by IATA and ICAO within the pilot role and the aviation sector more broadly, such as Culture and Hazardous Attitudes. This is to understand and assess that the individuals applying to complete their training join an organisation, or perhaps change fleet or role with their current employer, and are going to be a good fit and therefore more likely to succeed in the role.
How do Symbiotics’ pre-screening and assessments benefit an industry that is heavily relying on new pilots to fill the shortage?
Whilst assessments could be seen as a barrier, there is a proven increase in success rates in training and, therefore, longer-term implications when ensuring that the right individuals are selected. Similarly, safety is a paramount factor in the selection of pilots, and therefore investment in assessing and understanding human performance is key. The challenge is to meet the growing need
for skilled personnel who can support the industry’s rapid development while still maintaining high safety standards where the associated costs and risks are high for both the organisation and the individual.
The consequences of not using an effective selection process and onboarding individuals who are not suitable are complex and can generate negative outcomes, including speed of training, cost implications, failure rates, as well as wider issues such as brand reputation and ethical considerations for students.
Through organisational profiling, ADAPT can use bespoke criteria scoring to ensure that candidates of all levels not only possess the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitude for the role but are also a good fit for the organisational culture.
How do you make sure you keep your pre-screening and tests up to date?
We engage with clients regularly to ensure a continued understanding of their challenges and seek to meet their needs while constantly looking at key industry trends. This also includes ensuring compliance with the latest regulatory changes, such as the EASA.CAT.GEN.MPA.175(b) and DGCA
medical circular, which have implications for psychological assessments of pilots.
During product development or review, our process is extensive, stemming from a thorough literature review, including an examination of the psychological theory and supporting research behind the construct, a review of existing measures, as well as working closely with subject matter
experts and conducting exploratory interviews to support the development of test content.
To ensure ongoing development and improvement of our assessments, test data is collected from the target population to examine the psychometric properties of the test content, with data analysis conducted at various points to ensure validity and reliability are maintained.
What markets are you keen to expand into further?
The aviation industry presents continually emerging opportunities such as advanced air mobility (AAM), where we are partnering with operators to ensure an industry solution that is fit for purpose for the appropriate selection of AAM pilots.
As an organisation, we strive to ensure that people considerations are included in the discussion and agenda as the industry advances and seek to innovate where we can to support industry advancement. Alongside this, mental health and wellbeing is an area where we continue to pursue workable solutions for clients and are seeking to enhance and shape our current offering to assist further.
You’re RAA and ERA members – why might these assessments be particularly vital for regional airline operators?
Selection and assessments are important for any organisation and have been shown to be both efficient and cost-effective in identifying the most suitable candidates for the job, increasing success in training, and improving operational safety.
This is particularly vital for regional airline operators to ensure that resources are used most effectively and that there is a good fit between the individual and the airline.
Smaller organisations typically experience higher personnel turnover and, as such, would benefit from selection procedures that identify candidates who are a good match for the operator culture and are therefore more likely to show long-term commitment. IATA suggests it may benefit from utilising an experienced partner for support in implementing this testing.
