Consortium Testing

Consortium testing is a practical and economical way to select firefighters without losing the benefits of valid procedures and highly qualified applicants. It involves the banding together of a number of fire agencies to recruit, cooperatively test, and draw candidates for hire from a common database.

We offer three levels of consortia:

1. Level One consortia provide subscribers with testing materials, administration instructions, scoring, passpoint-setting assistance, job analysis and validation, and candidate database maintenance.

2. Level Two consortia provide the advantages of Level One, plus FPSI general recruitment, applicant screening, and administration of all tests.

3. Level Three, our "Gold Standard", provides all of the above plus our special Diversity Enhancement Program.

Benefits

Flexibility We offer you the flexibility to meet the specific needs of your consortium members. Each consortium may choose from three levels of service and each consortium may choose FPSI written tests, interview packages, physical ability tests, or all three.

Economy Consortium testing eliminates the waste of multiple agencies testing the same candidates, thus reducing costs for all.

Candidate Convenience Candidates benefit from having to test only once to become available to many agencies.

Defensibility The combined weight of job analysis and validation data from multiple agencies increases the defensibility of the tests for all agencies.

Diversity FPSI's Diversity Enhancement Program provides qualified minority group members, not just sheer numbers. Also, if the consortium includes one or more locales with high minority population, these candidates become available to all members.

Diversity Enhancement Program

One of the major problems facing fire agencies is becoming more reflective of the public they serve while maintaining the traditional high standards of the fire service. FPSI believes that both these goals can be attained. Our Diversity Enhancement Program is designed to attract, identify, and support qualified members of groups currently under-represented in the fire service.

To accomplish this, FPSI will:

Attract individuals with advertisements in appropriate media and contacts with relevant groups and organizations. These efforts will emphasize both the benefits of a fire service career and the qualities needed to be a successful firefighter.

Identify qualified individuals through pretesting and feedback on development needs. Support by "mini-academies" and encouragement to those with the potential to meet firefighter standards.

Setting Up An FPSI Consortium

Setting up an FPSI consortium is as straightforward as 1-2-3. We will assist you and your colleagues throughout the process using our experience gained through other consortia.

1. Alert FPSI to your interest in consortium testing and inform us of other agencies in your area that might wish to participate. We will send you more details on this process and will get in touch with other potential consortium subscribers.

2. We will arrange meetings with you and other potential participants to discuss the details of consortium testing, respond to questions, and plan the development of your consortium. We will provide various funding estimates and alternatives. (In many consortia, the primary funding source is candidate fees with waivers for indigent candidates.)

3. For those agencies wishing to participate, we will assist in getting the support of your governing boards and drafting of contracts.