Ramsay Mechanical Aptitude Tests

What is a Ramsay mechanical aptitude test?

The Ramsay Corporation is an HR Consultancy firm established in 1973. It specialises in helping businesses with their pre-employment selection process, using bespoke aptitude tests to allow for screening of potential employees.

The Ramsay MAT was first developed in 2004, and is now in its fourth iteration, known as the Ramsay MAT-4. The premise of the Ramsay MAT-4 is to use mechanical and physical principles to assess the problem-solving skills of the candidate.

Like many aptitude tests, there is no previous knowledge of the job or role needed in a mechanical reasoning assessment, but a sound understanding of mechanics and physics is important. It is designed to seek out the potential of the applicant, without inference of social or cultural background.

Which professions use the Ramsay test?

As the Ramsay MAT-4 is designed to assess applicants for entry-level positions, it is widely used in a range of different professions. Future learning potential is important in these roles, and with this assessment recruiters can see how the candidate applies mechanical reasoning to solve problems.

This might be for engineering roles, as well as maintenance technicians and machine operators, tool setters and installers. Those entering into production management will need to have mechanical aptitude too, so this is a good indicator for recruiters.

There are a wide range of employers that use Ramsay mechanical aptitude tests as part of their pre-employment screening process. These include well known industrial businesses like Aerotek and Essity, as well as more generalised businesses like Coca-Cola and Amazon.

The format of the Ramsay MAT-4 test

The Ramsay MAT-4 is a multiple-choice assessment, presented as a series of images, diagrams or illustrations – usually of everyday objects – with a mechanical or physics-related question.

The test can be taken on paper as a supervised test, or as an online test in your own time. Ramsay creates tests based on specific industries and job roles, so the assessments themselves can differ depending on the job applied for.

There are 36 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes, and the subjects can include:

• Thermodynamics
• Velocity
• Force/Movement
• Acoustics
• Optics
• Fluids
• Electricity

None of the questions require deep theoretical scientific knowledge, but they do require a sound understanding of basic science (especially physics).

Each question has a number of multiple-choice answers, and only one is correct. To answer the questions, you need to be able to demonstrate mechanical comprehension and apply that knowledge for the solution.

The pass mark for the Ramsay MAT-4 will depend on the organisation. Scores are presented on a score sheet that includes the raw score for each section, with the total translated into a percentile.

This percentile may be compared on a local or national level, depending on the role applied for.

How best to prepare for a Ramsay mechanical test

As with any aptitude test, specific knowledge is not required – but you do need to have a solid scientific and mechanical knowledge to be able to answer the questions correctly.

This means understanding and applying basic principles of:

• Gravity
• Acceleration
• Newton’s Laws
• Voltages
• Currents
• Circuits
• Pressure
• Contraction
• Expansion
• Light
• Reflection/Refraction
• Sound and Acoustics
• Equilibrium
• Torque
• Cooling/Heating
• Condensation/Evaporation

Each test is developed to be relevant to the industry function, so alongside scientific knowledge, try to look for what might be included in your chosen job function.

If you are applying for an entry-level or apprenticeship position as an electrician, it is safe to assume that there will be a number of questions around the principles of electricity, for example.

Practice is important – and as with any aptitude test, practicing the specific publisher tests can make all the difference in your performance. This will give you confidence in the way the test is administered, as well as highlighting any shortcomings in your mechanical knowledge.

We have some more advice on how to pass mechanical reasoning tests, if you are looking for more general advice about mechanical reasoning.