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Online Self-Assessment Tool Helps Geoscientists Objectively Assess their Skills

Setting the Scene

OGICA is a collective of experienced energy industry professionals who have created a comprehensive online self-assessment tool to benchmark the skills and skills gaps of individuals within the international operational geoscience community. The tool will enable operational geoscientists, across the oil and gas sector, to objectively assess their current skill levels which they need to be successful in their role.

OGICA Competency Assessment on a Tablet

The Challenge

Given the international nature of the oil and gas sector and the 24-hour nature of their work, OGICA were looking for an online self-assessment tool that candidates could access at any time, from any location. OGICA are anticipating candidates will use their results to put in place appropriate training to help them fill any skills gaps. Therefore the results need to be robust and easy to interpret, to ensure the assessment is effective and that candidates benefit from the experience.

The Solution

A digital assessment solution was the natural fit and eCom was delighted OGICA chose to work with us. eCom developed a fully digital end-to-end secure self-assessment system, enabling OGICA to support operational geoscientists.

The system is comprised of three eCom modules. The first module is an online booking management system that enables users to schedule andpay for their assessments. This then links to the online self-assessment tool itself, powered by eCom’s flexible online assessment system, eNetAssess. Users answer questions, automatically chosen at random by the system, covering ten skill categories, ensuring that all of the skills required for the role are evaluated.

The output from the tool shows a visual representation of the results which can be easily digested at a glance, signposting candidates to the appropriate training services to fill any skills gaps while helping facilitate a quality conversation with those who employ the candidates’ services. The assessment system has over 900 questions in the question bank, which are chosen at random by the system each time. This means competency can be assessed over time, with the likelihood being that the questions will be unique on each occasion, helping to minimise question order bias and improve the overall quality. Additional questions will be added as an ongoing exercise by OGICA members and industry peers, with a target of significantly increasing the number of questions in the database by the end of 2020.

Once an individual has completed the assessment, the third module, powered by eCom’s digital micro-credentialing tool, eNetBadges, will issue candidates with a digital badge in recognition of their learning experiences and achievement. This badge has metadata embedded in it, with details of the issuer and the skills levels the candidate has achieved.

OGICA Competency Assessment
OGICA Competency Assessment on a Tablet

The Benefits

The system truly offers anywhere, anytime self-assessment for operational geoscientists around the world, enabling them to demonstrate the skills they have in their role. The system is backed by eCom’s many years of experience in the world of eAssessment and development of online assessment tools.

It is easy to book and take assessments online, in eCom’s secure environment, helping avoid the logistical challenges of a paper-based system. This increases the likelihood of widespread adoption among the operational geoscience community. Recognition with a digital badge makes it easier for individual geoscientists to bid for work since their skills can be easily verified online. Ultimately, it is anticipated that this tool will increase an understanding of the candidates’ skills, enable comparison between candidates irrespective of location and be a universal first stage for use in competency programmes in the operations geoscience community working worldwide across the industry.

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