Abellio Assessment Centre, Psychometric Tests, Recruitment Process & Interviews Online Preparation – 2024

What Is Abellio?

Abellio is a Dutch-owned rail company that operates rail and bus systems in the UK and Germany. Abellio ScotRail, Abellio London, Greater Anglia, East Midlands, and West Midlands are all UK-based subsidiaries of Abellio. Abellio also operates in cooperation with Serco as Serco-Abellio, and under this name, they run Merseyrail as a joint venture. Abellio’s German companies are Westfalen Bahn, and Abellio Deutschland.

There are over 14,000 people employed by Abellio throughout its UK and German subsidiaries. In addition to traditional hires for positions in operations and engineering, human resources, marketing, and other aspects of the transportation industry, there are graduate scheme opportunities available with Abellio.  Employment at Abellio and its subsidiaries comes with benefits that include:

• Contributory pension scheme
• Free travel
• Retail discounts
• Training and development opportunities

What Is Abellio’s Hiring Process?

You can find the number of current vacancies and job listings for every Abellio company on their main website. If there are no positions listed that you are interested in you can sign up for job alerts, so you can be notified if anything you are qualified for is posted.

If your application seems to meet the job requirements you will be notified to take an online assessment. You will be able to take these tests from your home computer.

Some candidates may be asked to complete a pre-recorded online interview. In this type of interview, you will be sent a link that will include the questions, and you will record your answers and submit the completed interview. If you are not selected to continue to in-person interviews you will be notified.

Some positions will require applicants to complete an assessment centre. This allows the hiring manager to observe which job-seekers work best with others and observe their skills as they complete various work-related exercises.

The final step is the on-site behavioural interview. These are done using the STAR method. For this method of interviewing, you will be asked about a situation, the task you were asked to perform, the actions you took to complete that task, and the resolution. This form of interviewing gives you a chance to provide detailed examples of your problem-solving skills and work style.

Abellio’s Psychometric Tests

Abellio uses tests designed by SHL to help in the short-listing process. To be selected to proceed to the interviews, applicants will need to demonstrate proficiency in areas deemed important for the performance of the job they have applied for.

• Situational Judgment Exam (SJT) – The way workplace challenges will be handled is important in making hiring decisions. The SJT will present the test taker with different workplace scenarios, and they must select from the provided answers the responses they feel is most appropriate.
• Verbal Reasoning Test – The ability to communicate clearly and follow written directions is important in the transportation industry. The verbal reasoning test helps show reading comprehension and the ability to think logically. The SHL verbal reasoning test is made of brief passages followed by a few questions or statements. The candidate must decide whether a statement is true, false, or if there is not enough information provided.
• Numerical Reasoning Test – Proficiency with numbers is important in jobs from engineering to accounting. SHL’s Numerical reasoning tests will show if a candidate’s skill with numbers is where it should be for their position. Some people may just need to show skill with basic math such as addition or subtraction. Others may need to show an ability to work with tables and graphs. The difficulty of the numerical tests will vary based on the level of the job and the skills required. These tests will be multiple choice.
• Mechanical Comprehension Test – This test will show how well the participant understands basic mechanics, and if they are able to use the concepts to troubleshoot. This test will use diagrams to illustrate concepts and test the subject’s knowledge of how things like gears and pulleys work, and how to fix a problem. This test is multiple choice.

How to Prepare for Abellio’s Pre-Employment Tests?

The best way to get outstanding scores on the pre-employment tests is to go in prepared. Study as much as you can prior to taking the tests to give yourself a competitive edge. The job listings do not specify which assessments, if any, you will be required to take. You can find clues by reading the candidate description in the posting. It will often emphasize qualities like “strong reading comprehension.”

Use flashcards and number drills to help with your numbers of skills. You want to be able to answer quickly or be able to make an educated guess, so you do not waste time on one question. Any chance to read will help reading comprehension, but you can help it by doing crosswords, or word puzzles. This helps improve your vocabulary and improve your focus.

Any applicant for a role in operations should be sure to study their mechanical comprehension. Concentrate on gears, pulleys, and levers, and the physics behind how they work, many of the test questions will be about these. Force, acceleration, and gravity are other concepts you will need to be well versed in. The difficulty will increase based on the level of position, so study things that may be more advanced than you feel the position requires so you are prepared for any difficult questions that may pop up.