Civil Service staff reports improved applicant turnout for firefighter exam, plans to expand remote proctored testing

Civil Service staff presented a monthly update Wednesday showing stronger turnout for a recent firefighter posting, ongoing efforts to raise test report rates and plans to expand remote proctored testing capacity.

The report matters because Civil Service controls examination and referral processes that determine which applicants move into city hiring pools; changes to testing delivery and capacity could affect how quickly departments can fill vacancies.

Bradshaw, a Civil Service staff member, told the board the packet of handouts included a column “from receipt to referral” that the office uses to track the part of the process the board oversees. “That’s the one we care most about,” Bradshaw said, and he asked the board to focus on that column when reviewing staffing timetables.

Bradshaw detailed written-testing statistics and said some test formats — including vendor‑proctored e‑skills tests administered through Prometric-style services — produce higher report rates. On the recent firefighter posting he reported that 191 applicants met minimum qualifications, 146 were scheduled for tests and 141 showed up. “Some of those drop offs were folks that didn’t include all the proper documentation,” Bradshaw said.

Staff said the office’s aim is to raise the right‑hand “report rate” column by using testing methods better matched to the job — for example, relying less on written tests when a training‑and‑experience questionnaire is more appropriate — which the office believes will yield more and better applicants.

Bradshaw also described modernization work: a scanning project to digitize historical records and minutes, and a pending procurement to expand remote proctored testing licenses. He said the current contract ends in August and the new contract, now being routed, would increase remote‑proctored licenses from 150 to 500 per year, allowing more candidates to take examinations from home in qualifying situations.

The office noted that online testing and improved publicity — combined with recruiting efforts by hiring departments — have coincided with higher applicant counts for certain job classes. Bradshaw credited recruiting and marketing by departments as part of the increase and said Civil Service’s role is to “not get in the way” of those efforts.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the statistics; Bradshaw said he had shared the same data with the city COO, Brent Rosenberg, after a request for comparisons. No formal action was taken; staff said they will continue routing the contract and returning with updates when approvals are finalized.