WSQ: Conduct Competency-Based Interview and Make Hiring Decisions

Recruitment & Selection is one of the most important processes in the Human Resource Management System. The cost of hiring, orienting and training a new employee far exceeds that of retaining a competent employee.

CBLD brings to you revolutionary Competency-Based interviewing techniques to help you identify, match the right candidate to the right job, and make well-informed hiring decisions.

Our new program “Conduct Competency-Based Interview and Make Hiring Decisions” adopts an experiential learning approach in which you have hands-on practice in identifying job competencies and generating competency-based and probing questions to be used during interviews (the “STAR” Approach). You will have opportunities to role play simulated interviews and evaluate suitability of candidates.

The skills and knowledge you will gain from this program can be transferred immediately to your organisation - improved interviewing skills leading to hiring the right candidates for your organisation!

The learning topics would include, but are not limited to:

• Understanding the differences between conventional and competency-based interview techniques?
• What are the aims of a Competency-Based Interview?
• How to identify competencies needed for a job?
• How to identify types and forms of evidence to be gathered?
• How to prepare competency questions using the STAR approach
• What are other logistics required for conducting a competency-based interview?
• Conducting a Competency-Based interview
• Documenting, consolidating and evaluating evidence to make hiring decision

Individuals who have completed the above-mentioned program and assessment successfully will receive:

1)    A Statement of Attainment from the Singapore Workforce Development Agency on “Conduct interview and make hiring decision”

Elizabeth Chan - Trainer Profile

Elizabeth holds a Master of Management (majoring in Human Resources Management) from Macquarie University. She brings with her more than 30 years of working experience in office administration, human resource management and development, as well as training and consultancy.

In 2000, she left her job as a Human Resource Practitioner to be one of the pioneer consultants for the National Skills Recognition System (NSRS), then a new initiative by the Ministry of Manpower. She developed functional maps, skills standards and assessment plans for various industries (see list below). She earned an award in 2002 for her contribution towards national workforce development, the only NSRS consultant to be awarded that year.

She was also featured in the Straits Times for her active involvement in the NSRS. Later, Elizabeth was appointed by SPRING Singapore, the implementing agency of NSRS, as Industry Supervisor and Supervising Assessor to supervise assessments for various industries. She was also appointed as an NSRS trainer and auditor. In addition to her involvement with NSRS, Elizabeth developed on-the-job training blueprints for various industries for SPRING Singapore and was an approved trainer for this series of on-the-job training (OJT) programmes.

Her extensive work in NSRS eventually led to her training and consultancy work with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), a statutory board of Ministry of Manpower, which was established in 2003. She was involved in the development and implementation of the Singapore Continuing Education and Training Framework, later known as The Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Framework by developing Industry Competency Maps, Competency Standards and Assessment Plans. Some of the WSQ frameworks, which she had managed/developed, which earned her recognition, include Retail; Meeting, Incentive, Conventions & Exhibitions (MICE); Training (Advanced Certificate in Training & Assessment); and Employability Skills. Till date, Elizabeth is still actively involved in such consultancy work, which makes her one of the very few individuals with expertise in the full spectrum of the competency framework. Her competitors for such projects include big consultancy firms and universities from overseas, such as Australia, Canada and United States.

Elizabeth also helps companies from different industries in adopting and implementing the WSQ Framework, including developing training programmes and assessment plans, and providing training to course developers, trainers and assessors who come from a variety of occupations such as CEOs, directors, lecturers, managers, new trainers and training administrators.

In 2004, Elizabeth successfully completed the Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA), then a new programme initiated by WDA and conducted by Challenger TAFE, Australia. This certified her to be a competent trainer and assessor, and qualified her as master trainer of this same programme that was later implemented in Singapore for WSQ course developers, trainers and assessors. When the pilot run of ACTA rolled out in November 2004, Elizabeth conducted training for one of its core modules, "Competency-Based Assessment" for the first batch of ACTA-certified trainers in Singapore. She was also involved in the pilot run of the ACTA Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment as one of the lead assessors.

To date, Elizabeth has trained and assessed more than 100 batches of trainers, course developers and industry assessors under the NSRS and WSQ Frameworks and remains actively involved in the competency-based learning scene in Singapore. Those who have attended her training are convinced of and are able to appreciate the goodness and benefits of the competency framework. She founded the Community of Practice in Assessment (COPA) in 2005 while conducting training with the Singapore Training & Development Association (STADA). When she started her own company, Center for Competency-Based Learning & Development (CBLD Center) in 2007, she re-activated the COPA, which is now a platform for developers, trainers and assessors to come together to exchange the latest ideas and best practices in the training industry.