Some of the safest roads in the world are made here
At DVSA, we play a vital role in keeping Britain’s roads safe. We conduct over 1.9 million driving tests a year, helping connect people and their communities.
How do I apply?
We will be recruiting for Driving Examiners from Tuesday 26th May. Vacancies will be advertised for Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Glasgow, and East London.
Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment for each applicant’s skills and potential fit for the role. There are four stages involved. You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next.
Stage one – application form
You will be asked to complete an online application form outlining your previous work experience.
Stage two – online assessment exercise
After completing your application form, you will be invited to undertake two self-directed online assessments, which you will need to complete within a given timeframe.
The first will be a customer service exercise, designed to assess how you communicate with candidates, provide excellent customer service and maintain professional standards at all times.
The second will be an observation and reporting exercise that will test your ability to recall key details, apply criteria accurately and produce a clear record of your findings.
Your scores from both assessments will be combined to determine whether you progress to the next stage.
Stage three – online interview
You will be invited to attend an online interview via Microsoft Teams. You will be assessed against the following behaviours, more information on these can be found in the job advertisement.
- Communicating and Influencing
- Managing a Quality Service
- Making Effective Decisions
You will also be assessed against selected Civil Service Strengths.
Stage four – driving assessment
Your driving ability assessment will last approximately 45 minutes and during that time you will be asked to complete:
- An eyesight check.
- One reverse manoeuvre.
- Drive independently for approximately 20 minutes.
- Approximately 5 minutes of talk through.
To be successful, you will need to demonstrate consistent, safe and well-planned driving. This includes anticipating potential hazards early, positioning your vehicle correctly, showing good judgement in your decisions and maintaining full control of the vehicle throughout. We are looking for a standard that goes beyond basic driving ability. The focus is on delivering a safe, smooth, and well-planned drive from start to finish, with consideration for fuel efficiency and overall road safety.
Kelly Swift, Driving Examiner
“I was lucky enough to be part of a great group who really came together to support each other through the ups and downs! We had a mixture of backgrounds and skills, which was an advantage as we brought different strengths and weaknesses.”
You’ve already got the skills
Driving Examiners are the people at the heart of our work. Coming from every background under the sun – from Forces to Retail – they form the backbone of DVSA services across the country.
Who can be a Driving Examiner?
If you’re 23, or over, have held a full manual driving license for a minimum of three years and have excellent customer service skills, and the ability to remain cool, calm and collected under pressure, then this could be perfect for you.
The people you test will be nervous, so you’ll need to have a reassuring, calm persona to put them at ease. Your knowledge, skills and judgement will determine if a candidate is ready and safe to take to the road alone, meaning you’ll need to be detail oriented, objective and efficient.
When you join us, you’ll undertake an intensive six-week training phase to make sure you’re up to speed. The training is fast paced, so you’ll need to dedicate yourself to it completely, but it will equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to succeed, and you will be supported at every stage.
What’s in it for me?
Driving Examiners are Civil Servants, so you’ll benefit from an outstanding benefits package. This includes generous annual leave, one of the best pensions in the country and a huge range of career development and progression opportunities.
DVSA’s Driving Examiners benefit from a working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance.
Our full-time examiners test 5 out of 7 days working a 37-hour week. If your application is successful, we are open to exploring alternative flexible and part-time working.
Recruitment drive video
Show video transcript
- Hi. Here's a short video that we've put together to assist you to plan for your Recruitment Drive with the DVSA.
- We have built this video around five key points that will hopefully lead to a good, planned drive and lead to you being in the correct position, at the correct speed, and in the most appropriate gear when approaching and negotiating any potential hazards.
- In this first clip we are travelling along a national speed limit dual carriageway. There is a white car in front of us, and we are approaching an on-slip onto the dual carriageway.
- As I'm approaching the white car, I prepare to change lane. I observe there is a red car approaching in lane three. I check my surroundings further to ensure it is safe to change lane.
- As I am gaining on the white car, I can see the on-slip in the distance on the left. At this point I consider changing to lane three to allow the white car to change position for any joining traffic.
- Early rearward observations are made in case I need to do this. Once past the white car I'm going to hold my position in lane two to ensure no other traffic is joining from the slip road.
- I'm going to take the next exit on the left after ensuring there is no emerging road users and there is a safe distance between ourselves and the white car I've just overtaken. I change to the left lane to prepare to take the next exit.
- In this clip you'll see the use of scanning and planning techniques to assist with being able to keep the car moving. Planning for gaps at junctions and being aware of our surroundings.
- I've identified queuing traffic in the left lane ahead. I move across to the right hand lane to avoid being held up needlessly in the left lane.
- On approach to the roundabout, I want to start making early observations to the right to plan my approach – avoiding unnecessary stopping and unnecessary gear changes.
- I want to slow the car down to plan for my gap to emerge just after the van, totally aware of my surroundings. Especially with the parked car and pedestrian to my right and also the activity in the lane to my left.
- The road bends to the right and I take my attention to the additional room the truck might need on the bend. I'm planning to take up position in the centre lane after the bend, being mindful of the truck to my left and looking for clues they may want to move to their right. Are they indicating? Are their wheels turning? Can I see the driver's intentions? I apply an early signal to show my intention to all other road users and gradually move into this lane. I want to avoid sitting too long in other drivers' blind spots.
- I see the build-up of traffic ahead on approach to the next junction, so I want to start to plan the same approach to keep the car moving if safe and possible.
- I allow for a good separation distance from the white van in front. I'm aware of the white car to my right and again that planned approach allows me to emerge onto the roundabout once the white car has passed.
- In this clip you'll see the use of planning techniques in response to traffic signs, road markings and traffic lights. I am approaching a roundabout and intend on following the road ahead, taking the second exit.
- I've responded early to the road markings to ensure I'm in the correct position at the next junction. The lane I want is clearly marked "Butley" and I'm following the road ahead.
- I now use the same procedure as previous clips when approaching the roundabout to keep the car moving and look early for those gaps to emerge, creating that fuel efficient drive. Now on the roundabout, I need to keep that safe gap between myself and the car in front. I'm also aware of the truck approaching from my left.
- I react to the traffic sign that informs me I need the right hand lane when exiting the roundabout. Scanning ahead I can see the lights have been red for some time, so I plan my approach with that in mind.
- If I approach too fast I'll probably have to stop unnecessarily. I'm not holding anyone up behind so I plan my approach in preparation for the green light.
- In this clip I'm driving on a rural road in a 30 mile an hour speed limit. I want to plan early for any hazards ahead, ensuring I'm in the correct gear at the correct time. I make early observations of a national speed limit sign ahead.
- I identify a left bend ahead. I want to deal with this hazard before building up speed. I'm now scanning way into the distance and I have identified a T-junction ahead.
- Can I see anything over the hedges? What's the flow of traffic like on that main road? I now see a white car on the main road. I can see this is an open junction. I'm emerging onto a fast road and I need to consider this.
- Not going to select a gear until I know what gear I need, eliminating unnecessary gear changes. I can now make my decision with confidence it's safe to emerge. I select the most appropriate gear for the situation and continue to make progress.
- In this clip I'm driving in a 40 mile an hour speed limit. I'm looking to be able to make progress when safe to do so. If possible I shall also consider the use of cruise control.
- Reacting to traffic signs, I can see I'm approaching a roundabout. Can I see a circle of street lights? What information can I pick up by my scanning? I'm going to maintain my speed at the moment.
- The roundabout is at the top of a hill. My early planning for those safe gaps to emerge is slightly restricted. As I steer following the apex on approach, I now make that decision to safely emerge. On the new road I've identified a car ahead in the distance. I've also identified a national speed limit sign.
- I continue to build up my speed ensuring I do not exceed the speed limit for the road. In preparation I update my mirrors. It's now safe to make progress.
- Is anything overtaking or closing in from behind? Now I know it's safe and the conditions are good I want to avoid over accelerating.
- Just that firm pressure on the pedal to build up speed in a controlled way, being mindful of the car ahead. Setting the cruise control is now an option for me.
- In this clip I use the observational link technique to anticipate what could be happening ahead. This will enable me to form an early plan of a predicted change in the current speed limit.
- I'm currently driving on a national speed limit rate. It's becoming more rural so I want to look in the far distance for anything that could give me clues as to the hazards ahead.
- Can I see anything across those fields? Where does the road go? I've identified houses in the distance across the fields and hedges. What information can I get from that?
- Are we approaching a more built up area? Am I expecting a speed change? There it is, now into a 30 mile an hour speed limit. My early planning helped me prepare for that to ensure I was at the correct speed at the correct time.
- Thank you for watching. We wish you every success on your Recruitment Drive.
Nick Kimber, Driving Examiner
“My primary role is to conduct driving tests, making sure people meet the required standard to drive safely on our roads. I get to meet people from all walks of life and I become part of their learning to drive journey.”
Find out more about working for DVSA
You can find out more about working for us, including all the other benefits we have to offer, by using the links below: