Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service
Firefighter Transferee Assessments
April 2024
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service partnered with VCA to deliver an assessment process to support the recruitment of firefighter transferees.
The service needed to assess experienced operational firefighters drawn from multiple UK Fire and Rescue Services, involving both external applicants and internal on-call firefighters, while ensuring alignment with local values, behaviours, and the NFCC Leadership Framework.
VCA designed and delivered a two-exercise assessment process consisting of a Values Questionnaire and a video-based role play. Scenarios were set within a fictitious fire and rescue service, ensuring candidates could demonstrate behaviours without relying on prior procedural knowledge. All exercises were mapped to Gloucestershire FRS values and the NFCC framework, with feedback reports provided to all candidates.
Twenty-nine candidates were assessed, representing six Fire & Rescue Services. Twenty-six candidates met the required standard and progressed to interview, establishing a clear and consistent benchmark for future transferee recruitment.
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
Firefighter Recruitment – Values-Led Assessment
2025
In 2025, VCA worked with Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service to develop and deliver a new firefighter recruitment process, placing values and behaviours at the centre of selection.
The service wanted a fair, inclusive and objective recruitment process capable of managing high candidate volumes while identifying individuals whose values aligned with the fire and rescue service and the NFCC Leadership Framework.
VCA developed a two-stage firefighter recruitment assessment, with Hereford & Worcester FRS becoming the first service to use this values-led approach.
The process began with a Firefighter Values Questionnaire (VQ), followed by a Community-Based Simulation (CBS). Both stages were designed around realistic scenarios and mapped to core fire service values and leadership behaviours.
The Values Questionnaire was delivered as a 60-question online assessment, anonymised and ranked to support objective shortlisting. Candidates who met the recommended 73% threshold progressed to the Community-Based Simulation, a realistic simulation auto-roleplay completed via recorded video responses and reviewed by specialist psychologists. All candidates received personalised developmental feedback.
Both assessments were designed to be fully inclusive, with accessibility features embedded throughout, including read-aloud guidance, additional time allowances, and a reasonable adjustments version of the simulation to support neurodiverse and neurotypical candidates.
The recruitment process began with 585 applicants completing the Values Questionnaire.
- 396 candidates progressed to Stage 2
- 348 candidates completed the Community-Based Simulation
- 80 candidates met the required standard and were shortlisted
VCA supported Hereford & Worcester FRS in identifying 80 candidates who progressed into the service’s internal recruitment process.
A values-first, inclusive recruitment approach can manage large applicant volumes while supporting fair, objective decision-making and identifying candidates with the right behaviours to succeed as firefighters.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service
Firefighter Recruitment – Values-Led Assessment
2025
In 2025, VCA partnered with Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service to support firefighter recruitment through a values-led assessment process focused on fairness, inclusion, and identifying candidates with the right behaviours for the role.
Suffolk FRS required a recruitment process capable of managing high applicant volumes while remaining objective, inclusive, and aligned to core fire service values and NFCC leadership behaviours.
VCA delivered our two-stage firefighter recruitment assessment consisting of a Firefighter Values Questionnaire (VQ) and a Community-Based Simulation (CBS).
The Values Questionnaire was a 60-question online assessment designed to evaluate alignment with four core fire service values. Results were anonymised and ranked to support fully objective shortlisting, with accessibility features embedded throughout.
Candidates who met the required standard progressed to the Community-Based Simulation, a realistic job-based auto roleplay assessed by specialist psychologists. Suffolk FRS adopted a combined VQ and CBS pass threshold of 69%, with progression determined by overall performance across both stages. Successful candidates then progressed to Suffolk FRS’s internal physical assessments and interviews.
Both assessments were designed to be fully inclusive, with read-aloud guidance, additional time allowances within the VQ, and a reasonable adjustments version of the CBS to support both neurodiverse and neurotypical candidates.
The recruitment process began with 333 candidates completing the Values Questionnaire.
- 118 candidates met the combined threshold to pass across the VQ and CBS,, and progressed to the service’s internal recruitment stages
Performance data showed that candidates with disabilities or neurodiversity performed in line with their peers, reinforcing the fairness and accessibility of the process.
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If you’d like to learn more about how VCA can help your organisation assess, develop, and retain talent, get in touch:
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