9am-5.30*pm except Day 1 which commences at 9.30am.

* On Day Two, delegates spend from 2pm-5.30pm plus whatever extra time they require in preparing a 2-hour assessment centre to run on day three. Therefore, it is necessary to keep some extra time free in the evening of day two to ensure that everything is ready for day three. It is also wise to bring a laptop on Day 2.

^ There is an optional exam on day three. This commences at 4.30pm and usually takes 60-90 minutes to complete.

The business case for assessment and development centres
Seeks to answer the question “Are ACs and DCs worth the investment”. Provides delegates with a sound methodology for answering this question to internal and external clients.

Analyzing the job/person/role specification
Approaches to analysing the job, job description and person specification as a critical start to the process of designing the centre. We’ll look at competency frameworks and how to apply them in the design of the assessment or development centre. By fully understanding the job, we can move on to select appropriate exercises.

An introduction to how to design/source and use each of the following:

Psychometric tests – uses and dangers
When and how to use published psychometric tests.

Designing your own questionnaires
Briefly, how to design your own questionnaire (if you really want to).

In-tray exercises
When to use and how to design standard in-tray exercise scenarios and marking sheets.

Written exercises
When to use and how to design written exercises, such as report-writing exercises.

Case studies
When to use and how to design case-study exercises.

Presentations
When to use and how to design and assess presentations, with or without visual aids.

Group exercises
When to use and how to design and assess/observe group exercises.

Focused discussions
When to use and how to design focused discussions or in-depth interviews on particular topics.

Role-play
When to use and how to design role-play exercises.

A review of the major scheduling and resource issues that have to be considered so that your centre is delivered smoothly and effectively, including training and other preparation for centre personnel and candidates/participants.

We then move on to consider how we will objectively score/rate candidates, how we record the behaviours we observe and how we amalgamate everything and report to decision- makers. We will also cover the provision of sensitive developmental feedback to candidates.

Validating the centre and evaluating the process
How to validate the exercises and the centre as a whole to ensure that it meets the test of validity, consistency and fairness, and demonstrates value for money. Many providers of ACDC training skip this due to a limited knowledge of this area and the statistics that go with it. Our experienced organisational psychologist will show delegates how to validate in a fun and experiential way!

Good practice issues and resources
A range of good practice issues to be aware of, including the published codes of practice and the need for your own code/policy on the use of assessment and development centres; a recap on issues concerning Equal Opportunities, and advice on how to keep up-to-date, including details about conferences and webinars on Assessment/Development Centres.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION
This course is usually facilitated by Dr. Graham Tyler. Graham is a fully registered organizational psychologist, Chartered Scientist and executive director of PsyAsia International. His PhD thesis concentrated on psychometric assessment with particular emphasis on the validity of international and local models of personality in Asia. Previously an MBA lecturer for the UK’s University of Leicester Dubai Campus and more recently a visiting lecturer for a Hong Kong university (teaching MSc HRM),

Graham spends most of his time involved in training and consultancy in organizational psychology commuting between Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Australia. Graham's training and consultancy work in job analysis, selection and development systems, performance appraisal, assessment centres and generally maximising performance at work has seen him work with organisations such as Cathay Pacific, Citibank, BP, guinness, Hewitt Consulting and FedEx in addition to government organisations such as the Hong Kong Institute for Vocational Education, the Singapore Ministry of Defense and the Singapore Civil Service College.

He is a full member of the Australian and British Psychological Societies and his research with psychometric tools has been recognised by the British Psychological Society with their prestigious prize for Scientific Contribution to Organizational Psychology. Graham is also an Associate Fellow of the Hong Kong Psychological Society and a member of the Hong Kong Institute for HRM. He continues to be interested in assessment and selection research and his research has been published in international peer-reviewed and professional journals whilst he is a reviewer for the Journal of Personality & Individual Differences as well as for the annual SIOP (Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology) conference in the USA. In recognition of voluntary contributions to society and the less fortunate, Graham has been awarded honorary life membership of the British Red Cross Society and was nominated for the Wesley Hospital "Ideals in Action" award.

CANTONESE VERSION
This is usually facilitated by Austin Tay. Austin has sixteen years experience across various specialisations including, psychological assessment services and recruitment, training, project management, sales and marketing, business development and operations. Austin has worked in the service, construction, security and recruitment industries.

Austin started his career with Coffee Club Pte Ltd, Singapore in 1993. He then moved to Bethamesh Singapore Pte Ltd, a construction company, in 1995 and was subsequently seconded to its operations in Hong Kong as its Sales Manager. He rejoined Hiang Kie Singapore Pte Ltd; a coffee trading company headquartered in Singapore, parent company of Coffee Club Pte Ltd, Singapore, and was seconded to its subsidiary, Hiang Kie Hong Kong Ltd, as its Operations and Training Manager. He joined Gurkha International Group, a security and employment company in 2000, as its Business Development Manager and was subsequently promoted to Business Development Director in 2001. Austin then joined Hudson Global Resources HK Ltd, to head its Talent Management and Development practice in 2008 with focus on developing the business and delivery of projects providing: Psychological assessment services; Assessment and development centres; Competency based interview training; Competency modelling and profiling consultancy; 360 degree feedback surveys; and Outplacement & Executive coaching consultancy. He has also authored the article in Efinancial Career – ‘How banks keep High Potentials’ (17 October 2008).

Austin holds a BSc in Psychology with Socio-Legal Studies and a Masters in Commercial and International Law from the University of Buckingham, UK, a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law, London, and a Masters in Psychology of Work from the University of Leicester, UK. He is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society, the Hong Kong Psychological Society and an international affiliate of the American Psychological Association. He is a member of the Division of Industrial Organisational Psychology for both the British Psychological Society and the Hong Kong Psychological Society, the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of the American Psychological Association and the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management. He is also a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

PsyAsia's facilitators have been running Assessment and Development Centre training courses for over 13 years now. Our experience in training in this topic as well as designing and running corporate assessment centres spans the UK, Africa, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Singapore, China, Macao SAR, Malaysia and Hong Kong SAR. We have worked at ministerial and government level as well as with the world's most notable and blue-chip organizations. Our courses are only ever run by registered organisational psychologists who are answerable to registration boards for competency and practice and must undergo hours of professional development each year to ensure they remain current and to be able to renew their registration.