SSB Overview | Shield Defence Academy

Introduction

The selection process at the SSB is based on highly scientific and well-evolved techniques, which aim at assessing the personality traits of an individual in the context of the requirements of the Defence Forces. The SSB recommends the candidate as a potential officer material, who after rigorous training in the stipulated training academy and further chiseling in the unit into which he/she is commissioned subsequently, can be suitably groomed into an officer. The best SSB coaching center in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy grooms the aspirant's personality in a well-trained manner.

The experience, maturity, and familiarity with the service conditions, enable him/her to subsequently discharge the service obligations appropriately.

The SSBs adopt three different techniques of testing the candidates, applied by three different assessors (Interviewing Officer, GTO &Psychologist) to assess the same personality traits of the candidate at his conscious, sub-conscious & non-conscious levels. These techniques are as listed below:-

·         Interview Technique

·         Group Testing Technique

·         Psychological Technique

It is interesting to understand, that though the above three techniques are divergent in their application and tools of assessment; these converge to quantify the acceptable shades of the same personality traits desired to be possessed by the candidate.

The requirement of applying the three techniques to a candidate is to provide a three-dimensional view of his personality. It may be compared to viewing an object from its three different sides so that an overall complete picture is available when the assessment of the three assessors is finally put together.

Further, certain traits and qualities are more prominently discernable through a particular technique, eg, physical stamina, through GTO’s technique, as compared to the other two techniques. Hence, the ‘grey areas of one technique are confirmed by the inputs received from the other assessors during the final Board Conference. Hence the best and most excellent SSB defence institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy helps to inculcate officer's quality.

SSB Interview Procedure

The SSB interviewer looks for 15-character traits called “Officer Like Qualities”. The best SSB coaching institute in Lucknow Shield Defence Academy imparts the best part of hacks to deal with the SSB process.

The mechanism to check the done by the following procedure:

@Day 1 (Screening):

The first day involves 3 tests:

Picture Perception & Discussion Test (PP&DT)

Officer Intelligence Rating Test (OIR Test):

The first day involves ‘Officer Intelligence Rating Test’ which consists of Verbal and Non-verbal Tests. The candidate gets two booklets having 40 questions each. The time allotted for each booklet is 15- 17 minutes.

Picture Perception & Discussion Test (PP&DT):

This test can be further categorized into:

·     Picture Perception: An image is displayed for a time period of 30 seconds and the candidates need to note down its details such as sex, age, and mood of the characters, action performed by them. The candidates then create a story based on that image in a time period of 4 minutes.

·     Group Discussion: A group of 10-15 candidates is formed from the batch and each candidate needs to narrate his/her story and then discuss it in the group, to reach a common consensus.

The results are declared after which the shortlisted candidates are retained for the subsequent round of testing.

@Day 2 (Psychology Test):

On the second day of SSB, a Psychological Test is conducted. The following tests take place on this day:

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):

Candidates are shown 12 images (including 1 blank) and then they need to write a story on each for 4 minutes. The time limit is imposed to gauge the natural response of each candidate.

Word Association Test (WAT):

60 words are displayed in front of the candidates for 15 seconds each and the candidates need to write down a sentence that comes to their mind on seeing the word.

Situation Reaction Test (SRT):

A booklet is given to the candidates with 60 real-life situations and the candidates are required to write their reactions to those situations. The total duration of this exercise is 30 minutes.

Self-Description Test (SDT):

Candidates need to write a few paragraphs covering their self-description for the context given. For instance, writing the opinion of their parents, teachers, friends, etc., and the qualities the candidates wish to develop. The time allotted for this test is 15 minutes.

These tests are aimed to gauge the psychological suitability of a candidate for the defence forces.

@Day 3 (Group Testing – I):

Day 3 involves Group Testing. Here several outdoor tests are conducted where the candidates need to take part in groups. This day involves the following group tests:

Group Discussion:

The group discussion is conducted on two topics back to back on some current events or social issues. The discussion is usually 20-30 minutes each.

Group Planning Exercise (GPE):

Here the candidates are clubbed in a group of 10 – 15 people and are then given a story based on a model having certain issues. Candidates need to identify the issues and provide a practical solution for them.

Progressive Group Task (PGT):

Candidates need to overcome the 4 given obstacles collectively in a group for which they are given some helping material and a load with some rules.

Group Obstacle Race (GOR):

Commonly referred to as the Snake race, each group is required to compete against another group for 6 given obstacles.

Half Group Task (HGT):

This exercise is like PGT, but it is conducted with a smaller group over a single obstacle.

@Day 4 (Group Testing – II):

This day is again dedicated to Group Testing. Following tests are conducted on this day:

Lecturette:

Each candidate is presented with 4 topics out of which he needs to choose one and speak on it for a period of 3 minutes.

Individual Obstacles (IO):

Each candidate needs to clear 10 given obstacles in a time period of 3 minutes which are marked from 1-10 based on the difficulty level.

Command Task (CT):

Each candidate is made the commander and is given an obstacle similar to HGT which he/she needs to overcome with the help of his subordinates.

Final Group Task (FGT):

The entire group is reunited and required to complete the assigned task similar to PGT in the stipulated time.

@Personal Interview:

Personal Interviews are generally conducted on days 2, 3, and 4 after the respective daily tasks have been completed. Interviews are usually related to everyday experiences, work, education, family, hobbies, achievements in academics, general awareness, etc.

@Day 5(Conference):

Day 5 is the last day in which the assessor starts with a closing address, then the conference of candidates starts.

A board conference is conducted where all the officers who assessed the candidates on the previous days are present. Each assessor discusses among themselves respect to the suitability of a candidate.

Each candidate then appears individually before the board where their total assessment is narrated, and the board makes a recommendation accordingly.

The candidates who are borderline are given specific situations and then a collective decision is taken.

After the result is announced the shortlisted candidates are retained for further medical examinations and once you cleared the medicals and made it to the merit list then you become worthy of wearing the stars of pride after the rigorous training process.

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