News

December is focused on feedback and reflection. We are running feedback sessions and preparing end-of-year evaluation reports for our clients, reviewing trends on performance across all projects this year. These reports allow comparison with previous years and provide an opportunity to reflect on progress in behaviours, skills, and overall development. It’s a valuable time to consolidate learning, celebrate achievements, and plan next steps for 2026!

November has been a record month for meetings and demonstrations, as we explored how to embed the CPG into recruitment processes and support Firefighter recruitment. The podcast with Pete Wakefield went live and has been very well received, helping to share insights with a wider audience.

We delivered 2x Crew Manager combined assessments, totalling 25 candidates, and 10 Watch Manager CPGs. Alongside these assessments, we conducted 20 feedback sessions over two weeks, providing candidates and FRSs with detailed insights into performance and development. It’s been a busy month of engagement, learning, and sharing best practice across multiple projects.

We’re excited to be attending the Emergency Services Show 2025 at the Birmingham NEC this month! We’re especially looking forward to connecting with colleagues from across the fire and rescue services to discuss how our tailored recruitment, selection, assessment, and development solutions can support promotion and career development across all levels from firefighters to crew managers, to station managers, and chief fire officers!

We piloted the Firefighter Values Questionnaire (VQ) and Community-Based Scenario (CBS) as part of our new firefighter recruitment process. Both tools are now being integrated into the online platform for accessible, evidence-led assessment and feedback.

We reviewed line manager feedback for CPG candidates. Results show good alignment with CPG outcomes, particularly in Oxfordshire and Shropshire FRS. The process continues to provide a reliable way to identify high potential candidates.

Legacy data from a 2019/2020 cohort was uploaded into the Client Portal. This highlighted how our tools and approach have evolved, including online roleplays, richer feedback, leadership workshops, and neurodivergent-inclusive design.

Leicestershire FRS CPG assessments took place for Crew and Watch Manager levels. 22 Crew Manager and 34 Watch Manager candidates completed the role play and case study!

This month we started job analysis interviews with firefighters to support development of the new Firefighter Values Questionnaire (VQ). The interviews focused on firefighter daily challenges, proud moments, and supported understanding of how values and ethics play out in practice.

Our focus this month is a proposal for a new streamlined, behavioural 5-step approach to Firefighter Recruitment, plus tailoring elements of the CPG to meet the needs of a new client’s CPG starting soon. Plus a visit to the BPS Occupational Psychology Conference to learn about new developments, research and practice.

Following CPG results, we begin the evaluation process. This involves comparing the data with other project results at the same level, comparing performance trends with other FRS’s, reviewing feedback from candidates and admin teams and completing a ‘lessons learned’ exercise to drive continuous improvement. The evaluation is finalised after the feedback session we have facilitated so we can feed in any themes to guide further in-house developmental activity. This month we completed evaluations with Lincolnshire and Hampshire FRS’s, and continued to deliver feedback sessions for Suffolk, North Wales and Hampshire FRS’s.

Developmental feedback sessions are a great opportunity to explore the strengths, development areas, motivators and potential stressors demonstrated by candidates through completion of the CPG.

These conversations also provide useful insights to the FRS on aspects such as morale, development themes and performance trends. 25 feedback sessions with participants from 3 FRS’s have been an incredibly positive experience, providing VCA, the individuals and their organisations plenty to reflect on.

Discussions for a CFO selection process can start early, and this is a good month to start looking at appointment of executive leaders for 2025.

Welcome to Lincolnshire FRS running their first CPG with us for Area Managers.

Lots of CPH preparation webinars this month! A great chance for one of our Psychologists to spend an hour with candidates on-line outlining what to expect from the CPG, and how to demonstrate the leadership behaviours in an assessment context (as well as in the workplace). It’s a worthwhile session for candidates who haven’t attended before, or for FRS’ starting out using the CPG.

Welcome to Hampshire & IOW FRS as new VCA clients, a busy month ahead with CPG assessments at SM and GM level.

Full month of Crew, Watch and Group manager assessments (Northamptonshire FRS & Shropshire FRS).

Using the LITE version of the Career Progression gateway for CM promotion with new client North Wales, and a Best Practice Meeting for 6 FRS’s on the topic of ‘Promotion, selection and Emerging Talent’.

“It was all helpful, a great opportunity to discuss the work we are undertaking and share ideas and materials to assist with collaborative working and learning from each other. It felt as if we were part of a team, rather than all of us working in isolation which was uplifting!”

We met some fantastic colleagues at the Emergency Services Show and were inspired by so many of the talks. Plenty of exciting developments to come!

Join us and over 24 other FRS to receive these updates and details of future events here. We’ve spoken to 4 new FRS this month about adopting the CPG and dramatically reduce the burden on internal resources. Not to mention save money – Shropshire FRS completed their evaluation and let us know that using the CPG had saved then £120k since 2020! This month is all about Wtach and Station Manager CPGs, and Crew manager feedback sessions.

“It’s the first time someone has gone through my feedback report for any situation in the Fire Service, its good to hear from a professional what I do well and also not so well. Also recommendations on how I could develop myself further whilst still in the Service.”

We’re delighted to announce that VCA’s Career Progression Gateway (CPG) assessment tools have been chosen to support the NFCC with the Direct Entry project. We will be assessing a range of key behavioural characteristics using our online platform and look forward to working with 5 new FRS’s in addition to the 2 who are already using the CPG for their promotion assessments.

If you’d like to join us next time, send us a message here.

We’re close to launch for our CPG Feedback LITE! More information coming soon.

With more FRS’s thinking about support staff assessment and development, we’ll be providing a Community Safety Manager CPG as well as an on-call CPG project.

9 projects with 6 FRS booked this month.

November is a popular time of year for assessments! Including on-call FF in some promotions processes, we are running assessments across evenings and weekend too to fit in with availability. Including one client project which previously used our material off-line and using in-house assessors, this time round opting to use the Career Progression Gateway.

Autumn is a busy time for promotions, with Crew, Watch and Station Manager CPG assessments. Many FRS now schedule their assessments to run almost back to back, with only a week or two between processes. This makes promotion activity predictable and consistent, with candidates knowing when they need to prepare for and expect these important events each year.

We’ve also facilitated three Virtual CPG tours this month with both existing and new clients, a great chance to see how it all works and talk through what you need and how we can help.

Exercise design work is underway again with a new set of Group Manager tools in development.

More FRS are considering using the CPG remotely i.e. projects where the candidates complete the exercises from home, not at a FRS site. This is easy to manage with no impact on fairness or results. Get in touch if you have questions on how it might work in your organisation. This month we ran Group manager assessments this way, including delivering feedback sessions, which are steadily growing in popularity as the benefits become apparent.

After expecting a quiet month we were asked to deliver two last minute assessment projects, one of which was for an Assistant Chief Fire Officer position. Using our CPG online case study exercise as part of a suite of assessment the FRS ran, we also facilitated telephone feedback calls with our occupational psychologist coaches to each of all candidates post-process, which the candidates found highly useful.

Plus we discovered trying to organise trials of new materials is a challenge in August!

Anticipating a quiet month of assessments, we had plenty of feedback coaching sessions to facilitate, plus some Watch Manager roleplays. Time also for the team to attend British Psychological Society training webinars on Neurodiversity

Assistant Chief and deputy roles selected for using the EHP suite of psychometrics – click here for more info about the EH here is a case study based on another project

Plus up to 40 Crew and Watch manager case study and roleplay CPG assessments for a single client, and new assessor joining the team and being trained in using the CPG assessing the leadership qualities and creating reports according to our popular feedback style.

A FRS needed to recruit for Area manager roles, using the Executive Hire Profile (EHP) suite of psychometric tools and online strategic case study exercise.

Firefighter Recruitment Project
Having passed the initial stages of testing, over 100 applicants took part in a telephone presentation and roleplay with our team of psychologists, completed with 5 assessors over a week.

A FRS used our Station Manager CPG role-play exercise but delivered it in-house and off-line, using internal assessors and a roleplay.

Adaptation of the Firefighter Recruitment Online Presentation Roleplay from PQAs to Leadership Qualities completed and ready for our next project (lockdown permitting!)

We also started our Virtual CPG tours with new clients.

New client, Station Manager Assessment using CPG roleplay.

Station – Area Manager CPG assessments – Shropshire