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What we have heard from you….and our answers…
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I want to be ready for the ITOP but don’t know how to improve my chances of passing..
Up until now there hasn’t really been an effective way of preparing for your ITOP It was assumed that either you have the abilities or you don't, and that this would be the only influence on the result. Of course, in many ways it is true, it does come down to your abilities. But there is also a way that you can enhance these, through effective preparation. After any ITOP you will be given feedback, in the hope that you will take this information on board and use it to develop your skills before your next attempt. The service we offer saves you time and hopefully unnecessary disappointment. We give you feedback BEFORE the ITOP, so you can develop your skills and PQAs in a very focused and practical way BEFORE your assessment. Of course the drawback is that you have to pay for this, but if it saves you a year or more, we hope you feel it will be worth it! We see it as similar to having extra lessons before school exams- sometimes you need a helping hand to be able to demonstrate your true potential!
I want to prepare but I've been told there is no point revising..
We all know that to pass an exam you need to study and some people are still choosing to do this, in the absence of knowing what else they can do to improve their chances of success. In this instance revising is not a good use of your time; the ITOP is structured in a completely different way to knowledge based exams. The ITOP doesn't measure performance in facts, figures and technical detail. It measures performance of your core personal attributes- the PQAs. It can be useful to explore the PQAs, but this isn't really enough to help you understand or demonstrate them effectively in many cases. Although there is little value to revising in the traditional way, there is a great deal of value from PREPARING IN THE RIGHT WAY.
I don’t want to waste another year by failing the ITOP..
It can be frustrating to know feel ready to develop but not know how to improve your suitability for this. Now you now have the opportunity to take control and make sure your performance matches your potential. At VCA Ltd we have worked hard to create a range of options/services for all budgets, to allow you to save valuable time by preparing effectively.
What about preparing for the ADC?
We have been keen to make something available to help you as soon as possible which is why we have concentrated on getting the practice ITOP exercises on-line. A range of products to support your career progression, from the ADC and beyond will be available in the summer of 2008, so register your details and we will keep you updated.
How do you know what we need?
To help us make sure we are meeting all of your needs as we put these exercises together we would welcome your feedback, for instance on what you feel would help you and how you would like this to be presented to you to. So please do feel free to email me at hannahvallance@passyouritop.com. I can't guarantee I can get back to every message personally, but I can promise to take all of your comments and suggestions on board and create products that you will really benefit from.
Why doesn't my FRS offer this service?
For some FRS it may be that they haven't had the time or perhaps the expertise to develop services such as these. As Occupational Psychologists we are dedicated to designing packages that will help you, and have the expertise to do so. We have made an investment in developing these tools as we know how many people have requested them, but they are not easy to put together and have taken time.
For some FRS it may be a financial issue. Many FRS don't have the budget to provide the type of support that they would like and that ideally you need. Understandably, training budgets need to be spent on technical and safety critical aspects of skills development, but unfortunately prioritising these can be to the detriment of the formal development of your PQAs- the skills and attributes which are crucial to your management potential. We have tried to make the services we offer as realistically priced as possible to reflect the commitment you are prepared to make to the FRS as well as to your own development.
How can I be sure you are advising me fairly?
Our principal Psychologist, Hannah Vallance, has worked with the FRS for several years, supporting standardised assessment and development processes. She is committed to working with the FRS to improve standards, and to helping individual's take ownership of their development. Hannah specialises in developing potential, and as a psychologist takes a strengths based approach to her practice. She focuses on recognising key skills and enabling people to build on these in order to maximise their job satisfaction. She also uses assessment tools to identify development areas, and provide clear behavioural training pathways to address these.
We will give you feedback that will help you develop your PQAs and improve your performance. We will help you present the evidence of your potential in the right way. It is absolutely in our best interest to provide you excellent value and genuine support. We know that in the Fire Service the only worthwhile advertising is word of mouth. And we want you to feel that you can and will recommend us
How will you work with me?
We will support your career aspirations by providing the support you need through the products you have asked us for. We want you to trust our service to help you throughout your career. We know the value of building ongoing relationships which we can only do by helping you as much as possible. We know that you are unlikely to respect our advice if you don't see us practicing what we preach, so we need to work hard to demonstrate our ability to; Work with Others, Problem Solve, Plan & Implement, along with our Commitment to Diversity, Integrity, Excellence and Development - to name but a few!
What is the catch?
With anything of value, you get what you pay for. We have spent a long time designing the tools and testing them to make sure they work well and will give you the feedback you need to be prepared for your real ITOP. We mark each paper individually and give personal feedback based upon your actual performance and not just bland automatically generated statements. We have made sure our test(s) are completely accurate representations of the real ITOPs i.e. same layout, similar content. They are also marked by highly experienced assessment professionals. So there is no catch, just a great value for a long awaited service.
How do I know this will help me?
By taking the practice ITOP you will be much more prepared for taking the real thing. You will be familiar with the content, you will know what to expect, and you will have had feedback on what you need to improve. We know that we can help you, so we have made it as easy as possible for you to try it and see for yourself by offering you a money back guarantee on anything you purchase.
How do you know you have captured what is in the real ITOP in your practice one?
Hannah Vallance has worked in partnership with the FRS for many years. She has been responsible for a wide range of projects to support IPDS, including training assessors, quality assuring the internal assessors at ADCs, marking ITOPs at all levels, preparing ITOP and ADC feedback reports for candidates, designing ADC processes for Scottish FRS. She has consulted on an ODPM steering group and has been a firm supporter of this process for many years, working hard to ensure candidates are assessed fairly and accurately. Hannah designs all of the practice exercises and guidance documents. She works with other Occupational Psychologists and assessment professionals to deliver the individually tailored feedback reports and action plans.
Why are you offering this now?
For the past couple of years we have repeatedly heard comments reflecting the huge demand from highly motivated people who want to be able to take control over their future. We have heard the frustrations and have seen the opportunity to provide a service to meet this need. We recognise that although the FRS does support development in a great many ways, there are certain aspects that individuals would benefit from taking responsibility for themselves. We wanted to provide the opportunity to do this, and create a service that no one else can or is providing. We value the role we have played in supporting assessment processes for the FRS throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and are very committed to encouraging individuals to develop, and to raising awareness and standards around the PQAs. We hope this will also have a knock –on effect on standards in the FRS. If individuals have development needs in areas such as Commitment to Diversity & Integrity, and Commitment to Development, and we can help them not only identify this but alter their behaviours to improve it, it stands to reasons that standards in the FRS will automatically be raised.
Is this service applicable to everyone?
Scotland has its own ADC arrangements, in fact with VCA designing the ADC processes for the regional collaboration on Highlands & Islands, Tayside and Grampian. Therefore, preparing for the National Toolkit ITOP and ADC is not relevant for Scottish personnel.
What happens after the ITOP?
We would like to keep in touch with you and see how you are doing, and have additional services to offer to support you as much or little as you require. If you pass your ITOP and would like some help preparing for your ADC we can give you options for support in this area. If you should be unsuccessful at the ITOP, we will offer discounted services to make it more accessible to you to continue to prepare in an effective way. But as you know, it's not all down to us! Your feedback report will highlight what you need to practice or implement in order to improve your performance. You will need to prioritise this in order to make the most of the time and money you have invested in taking the practice ITOP.
What happens if everyone passes the ITOP now?!
By helping people prepare effectively we hope to raise standards, to improve the quality of candidates and increase the numbers of those getting through with top results. This will mean the FRS is really seeing the very best candidates, and have an even better pool of excellent personnel to draw on for further development and ultimately promotion.
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