How the GCT-2A works
The General Competency Test: Level 2 Abridged is one of four occupational tests on the PSC’s current list. A pass can stand in for a university education requirement, so you meet it only when a job asks for a degree and you do not hold one. It is the shorter successor to the 90-question GCT-2-314; a score of 58 or more on that older test still counts, as does a pass on the GIT-310.
You sit it in person at a federal government building, on the PSC’s Candidate Assessment Tool. One question shows at a time. A numbered list of all 50 questions shows which you have seen, answered or marked for review, and you can move to any question at any time and change answers until you submit. There is an on-screen notepad and calculator, and a countdown timer you can hide.
The 50 questions are of three types. Number and letter series ask you to find the rule and choose the term that completes the series. Numerical problems need basic arithmetic. Analytical reasoning gives a short passage of conditions and a set of questions on it. The PSC does not publish how many of each type there are.
The test is bilingual and you can switch between English and French at any time. There is no penalty for guessing.
How to approach each question type
120 minutes for 50 questions is 2 minutes 24 seconds each, so use the time to be careful:
- Series: write out the gaps between terms. If they do not form a pattern, try the gaps between the gaps, then split the series into alternate terms. With letters, turn each letter into its place in the alphabet.
- Numerical problems: write the calculation down before you touch the calculator, and check the units the answer asks for.
- Analytical sets: draw a grid or a line of slots on the notepad or rough paper and fill in the fixed facts first. Treat each question in a set separately: an “if” in one question does not carry to the next.
- Skip anything that is eating time, mark it for review and come back. The system does not remind you about blanks before you submit.
- Answer every question before time runs out. A blank cannot score.
Worked examples
Series: 4, 7, 13, 25, 49, ? The options are 73, 91, 97, 98 and 101. The gaps are 3, 6, 12 and 24, doubling each time, so the next gap is 48 and the answer is 97.
Letter series: 6Y, 9V, 12S, 15P, 18? The options are K, L, M, N and O. The numbers rise by 3 and the letters go back three places each time (Y, V, S, P), so the answer is M.
Numerical: a team of 4 officers processes 240 files in 5 days. At the same rate, how many files will 6 officers process in 3 days? Each officer handles 240 ÷ 4 ÷ 5 = 12 files a day, so 6 officers in 3 days process 6 × 3 × 12 = 216.
Analytical: five training sessions (Budget, Ethics, Privacy, Security and Writing) run Monday to Friday, one a day. Ethics is on Tuesday. Privacy is the day after Security. Writing is not on Monday or Friday. If Budget is on Monday, which session is on Friday? Wednesday to Friday are left for Security, Privacy and Writing. Security and Privacy must be next to each other, and Writing cannot be Friday, so Writing is Wednesday, Security Thursday and Privacy Friday.
Tips for the real GCT-2A
- Ignore prep material about vocabulary and figure questions. Those were on the older 90-question test, not this one.
- Bring a basic or scientific calculator you are used to, as long as it is not part of a phone or internet-connected device.
- Arrive 15 minutes early and allow 20 to 30 minutes on top of the 120 for administration.
- Keep an eye on the analytical sets. They take the most time, so do not leave them all to the end.
- If you do not pass, the retest wait is 180 days, and a result from a retest inside that period is not valid.
Practise the GCT-2A on CogniPrep
Our GCT-2A is a full 50-question paper on a 120-minute clock, or a half paper of 25 questions in 60 minutes. It uses roughly equal thirds of series, numerical problems and analytical sets, getting harder as it goes; the real mix is not published. As on the Candidate Assessment Tool, you move freely, mark questions for review and use a notepad and a four-function calculator. The full paper shows your score out of 50 next to the real pass mark of 31; the half paper reports a percentage. The questions are ours, not the PSC’s.