Last week the Government introduced new regulations that will reform the promotion process for Garda to Sergeant. Below I explain the details of the changes and how GardaIP can set you up for success for promotion to the next rank.

New Regulations

The new promotion process will be carried out under the remit of the Public Appointments Service (PAS) for the first time, rather than managed internally in An Garda Síochána. You will be familiar with the PAS – they managed the first three stages of the Entry Competition into An Garda Síochána.

There are presently over 260 vacancies at the rank of Sergeant in An Garda Síochána and the new regulations will allow these new promotions to begin later this year. My understanding is that the Garda to Sergeant competition will be advertised in the next 5 to 6 weeks on the portal via circular, flash notice and newsbeat- so that’s mid August 2021.

Candidates will have 3 weeks to apply through publicjobs.ie for the Psychometric Testing element. The Psychometric tests will be Stage 1, once a candidate has been cleared by HRM, who are to ensure that the candidate has passed the Sergeants Exam.

Psychometric tests will be completed in November 2021.

Competency Interviews for those successful candidates from the merit based Psychometric Tests will start in January 2022.  Note you will be ranked in order of merit depending on how you scored on the Psychometric Test.

Interviews will be held in batches of 40 per board with 5 parallel Interview Boards running at the same time.  So you will have Batch 1 (based on Order of Merit) i.e. how you scored on the Psychometric Test), then Batch 2, then Batch 3 etc….

From each batch the candidates deemed competent to be promoted will be sent to the Garda Commissioner, within the week the interviews finish, for his approval.

Batch 2 interviews will commence three weeks later with the remaining batches (depending on how many are called to the interview stage) following the same process and timelines.

All members who have the Sergeants exam passed will be eligible to go forward for interview for this competition however, from the next competition they will have to have passed the Sergeants exam in the five years leading up to the exam.

GardaIP have you covered all the way – Psychometric Test & Competency Interview

There is a very high probability that I prepared you for Garda Entry so you are familiar with my expertise.

I may also have prepared you for interview for specialist positions e.g. Detective Branch, SDU, ERU, Road Policing, JLO etc.  I’m a former senior officer in An Garda Síochána but most importantly for you, I’ve sat on the Interview Panels both internally and on the PAS through the years.

Garda to Sergeant Psychometric Test Course:

GardaIP have developed a dedicated Online Course to prepare you for the Garda to Sergeant Psychometric Test. It is available to purchase here https://www.gardaip.com/psychometric-tests-garda-to-sergeant-competition/

After purchase you will be issued with login details and will have immediate access to the course via the GardaIP.com Learning Platform. The course has 3 Tutorials.  It is presented in an online format as you will have to sit the test online. All of the Tests are developed to mirror Test conditions set by the PAS i.e. tests are timed and set at appropriate difficulty level.

The first Tutorial focuses on Verbal Reasoning. The Verbal Reasoning Test measures your ability to understand written passages and the logical evaluation of an argument. In this test you are given a passage of text that is followed by several statements. Your task is to evaluate the statements in light of the information or opinions contained in the passage and to select your answer.

Our Tutorial covers;
– Overview of the Test including expert tips, common pitfalls and how to avoid them
– 10 Timed Practice Tests (150 Questions!)
– Instant Feedback on your Answers

The second Tutorial focuses on Numerical Reasoning. In this test you will be required to work with graphs, tables and charts to identify key facts and figures, and apply the correct logic to form an answer in response to a worded question.

Our Tutorial covers;
– Overview of the Test including expert tips, common pitfalls and how to avoid them
– Explainer Video – step by step walk through patterns etc
– 10 x Timed Practice Tests – (150 Questions!)
– Instant Feedback on your Answers

The final Tutorial focuses on the Situational Judgement Test. The Situational Judgement Test attempts to identify what you would most likely do in a typical situation that you could face as a Garda Sergeant. The scenarios reflect critical aspects of the job where a Garda Sergeant has to use initiative and make judgements so as to provide an excellent service. In my view, this will be the most challenging part of the Exam. At first, it may feel challenging to prepare for the SJT since the answers are somewhat based on intuition and your years of experience since you first became a member! However, our online practice tests gets you comfortable with the format, presents the rationale for each response, and most importantly equips you with all you need to know on the day of the test.

Familiarity with the Code of Ethics is absolutely essential. This is your moral compass and provides a fantastic internal sounding board for you when responding to each scenario.

This specialist Tutorial covers;
– Overview of the Test including expert tips, common pitfalls, and how to avoid them
– Timed Practice Tests with detailed rationale behind each answer
– 50 scenarios to practice
– Instant Feedback and the rationale for the correct answer

You can purchase the Course here https://www.gardaip.com/psychometric-tests-garda-to-sergeant-competition/

Garda to Sergeant Competency Interview:

I will also prepare you for the Competency Interview. The new competencies for the Sergeants competition are;

1. Evaluation, Judgement & Decision Making
2. Organising and Managing Delivery
3. Relationships & Effective Communication
4. Supervising to Achieve High Standards of Service Delivery
5. Leading on Inclusivity and Results\
6. Resilience & Wellbeing

You will benefit from my expertise in articulating your relevant examples for each competency and how to give structured, succinct, informative evidence on how your examples relate to the core competencies in each case. I will also help you narrow down the best examples, and help you in lining up some back-up examples fully prepared if you need them during the interview, you are never caught off-guard and can remain confident and calm under pressure.

Give me a call at 087-2508958.  I’m always happy to discuss any aspect of the new competition.