ACG World Assessment Practice
Two Thomas instruments used across three very different hiring levels. Knowing which one you have been sent decides whether preparation is worth an hour or worth nothing
What ACG World uses, and for whom
ACG World is an integrated supplier to the pharmaceutical industry, making capsules, films and foils, engineering equipment and inspection systems, with operations across India, Europe and the Americas. Thomas International publishes a case study naming it as a user of both the Behaviour assessment, the PPA, and the Aptitude assessment, the GIA, across senior leaders, managers and graduates. The case study states specifically that the GIA is used when hiring graduates.
That is a more precise statement than most vendor case studies give, and it is useful, because the two instruments are so different that being told which one you are sitting is most of the preparation.
Two instruments that share nothing but a publisher
If it is the GIA: what the five tasks are
- Reasoning. A statement about two people appears, you click, it disappears, and a question about it appears with two options. Working memory, not reading.
- Perceptual Speed. Four vertical pairs of letters; count how many pairs match, ignoring capitalisation, and click 0 to 4.
- Number Speed and Accuracy. Three numbers; find the highest and the lowest, then click whichever is further from the third. Entirely mental.
- Word Meaning. Three words, two related by similarity or opposition; click the odd one out.
- Spatial Visualisation. Count how many symbol pairs are true rotations rather than mirror images.
The negative marking is calibrated per task against the number of options, so Reasoning, with two options, punishes a wrong answer hardest. That is the task to be careful on even though it is the longest and therefore the one that feels safest to hurry through.
If it is the PPA: what a manufacturer reads in it
A pharmaceutical manufacturer operates under regulated quality systems where deviation from procedure is a serious matter. That context shapes what different DISC shapes mean in a role, without making any of them better.
Thomas describes both ends of each factor neutrally: high Compliance follows policy closely, low Compliance is independent and willing to challenge. A quality assurance role and a business development role at the same company genuinely want different profiles, and this is the instrument that tells the hiring manager which conversation to have with you.
The reason not to engineer a profile is structural rather than moral. The third graph is the first minus the second, so a constructed work mask that does not survive into your pressure profile creates a visible gap, and a Thomas-trained reader interprets that gap as behaviour modification.
ACG World role families
Graduate and early careers
- Engineering and manufacturing graduate programmes
- Quality, analytical and R&D roles
- Commercial and supply chain trainees
Management and senior
- Plant and production leadership
- Quality assurance and regulatory leadership
- Commercial and regional general management
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell which test I have been sent?
The invitation usually says. If it does not, two tells settle it: the GIA insists on a desktop and a mouse and warns you it is timed, while the PPA works on a phone and has no clock at all. A test that starts with eight practice items and then a two-minute task is the GIA.
Are the tests in English?
Thomas publishes assessments in a large number of languages. On a speeded verbal task like Word Meaning, sitting in your strongest language matters, so ask whether an alternative is available rather than assuming English is the only option.
Can I use scrap paper on the GIA?
Nothing forbids it, and it will not help. Every task is a two-to-five-minute rapid sequence of single clicks; anything you write down costs you more time than it saves.
Do senior hires sit the GIA too?
The case study names the GIA specifically for graduate hiring and both instruments across the levels generally. If you are a senior candidate and receive an aptitude test, that is possible but not what the published evidence describes. Ask.
Practise both
Our Thomas practice hub has all five GIA tasks with the real negative marking and the PPA with all three graphs, so whichever arrives you have already seen it once.