The European Union EPSO Personnel Selection Office - EU Careers

1. Of those who take the EU EPSO computer admission tests, only 9% pass
2. Of those who pass the computer admission tests, 75% get the job
3. ...And finally, all the admission tests feature numerical reasoning tests

If you're in the EU, then you might apply for positions within the EU for various European Union careers. The EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) is the starting point to learn more about these careers - which covers positions for various permanent, contract and interim roles. From 2010, the EPSO has instituted a new selection procedure that not only looks at knowledge but also competency.

If you're more convinced by pictorial representations, here's a chart that represents the EU EPSO selection statistics and the various stages of the selections

Source of data: EU EPSO facts & figures page (as on Aug 7 2010)

These numbers tell us two interesting things

1. Only 9% of those who take the computer-based tests actually pass them - which means you better be better than 91% of them when you do these tests
2. Of those who pass the computer-based admission tests, 76% go on to get recruited!

Essentially, if you pass the EPSO admission test, you have a very, very good chance of getting the job. The real bottlenecks are the admission tests themselves - so ace them, and you're close to what you want.

Now - where do numerical reasoning tests feature in this? Turns out the admission tests all have numerical reasoning tests, and samples are available on the EPSO web site. This means you need to have strong numerical reasoning skills to increase the chance to getting past the tests.

Like it or hate it, good numerical skills are essential, so get the practice you need.

Here's an interesting link from 3 months ago 

• Brussels wants you to apply: The European Union has abolished its archaic test (independent.co.uk)