NatWest says its skills assessment is mostly untimed. Prep sites say otherwise

NatWest describes an online skills assessment of about 30 to 35 minutes, mostly untimed, covering statement choices and problem solving. Prep sites describe the reasoning section as numerical plus logical reasoning, on SHL. Our reasoning test trains the numerical side; the CCAT practice test has the logic items.

NatWest's own page says the skills assessment is mostly untimed, while prep sites describe a tight clock. We cannot tell you which is right for your scheme. Our test is fully timed, so treat it as a ceiling for pressure. It does not cover work scenarios, the video recording or the technical tests.

NatWest's early talent pages list the steps in unusual detail. You apply, complete work scenarios, take an online skills assessment, record video answers and, if you progress, attend a virtual assessment centre. Technical roles add a timed SQL test and a coding simulation.

The pages do not agree on the order. One lists work scenarios first; another puts the online skills assessment first. Both agree on the contents. Your Workday account shows the order for your scheme, and that is the only version that counts.

On NatWest's pages, the work scenarios are untimed and the online skills assessment is "mostly untimed". Prep sites describe the reasoning section as two tests, numerical and logical, with about 10 to 12 numerical questions in 10 minutes, and some say the whole battery takes 60 to 70 minutes.

One of two things is happening. The prep sites may be describing an older or different SHL battery, or they may be describing a section NatWest calls untimed but SHL times in places. We cannot tell which. The safe assumption is to practise on a clock and to be pleasantly surprised if you do not need one.

Practising against a clock that is faster than the real one has no downside. If your real assessment is mostly untimed, you will simply have time to check.

"Statement choices and problem solving" is broad, and NatWest does not spell out what the problem solving involves. Prep sites say the reasoning tests are numerical and logical.

If that is right, two practice sets cover it. The numerical half of the test above covers tables and percentages. For the logic half, the CCAT practice test mixes number series, deduction and shape sequences. Use the numerical reasoning questions page for method if you are rusty.

NatWest says you generally have 10 days from submitting your application to complete the assessment in full, and that programmes may close early if applications are high. Do not leave it to the last evening. The assessments are short enough to fit into a couple of evenings, but only if you start early and have time to repeat anything that goes wrong.

The practical split: one evening for the free test above, one evening for the logic practice if you need it, and then do the real assessment in the first half of your window, when you are not tired of waiting.

NatWest's video recording stage has six pre-recorded questions and takes about 20 minutes in total. That is roughly three minutes a question including thinking time, so rehearsing is worth it. Say one example aloud, time it, and cut the slowest sentence.

The assessment centre that follows is mostly virtual, with group discussions and role plays. NatWest says you hear the outcome within 14 days.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and NatWest Group has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• One prep guide says the NatWest assessments are provided by SHL and form three tests: a situational judgement test, a reasoning skills assessment and a pre-recorded interview.
• Prep guides describe the reasoning assessment as numerical plus logical reasoning, with no verbal section. Another lists numerical, verbal and often a situational judgement test. Sources disagree.
• One prep guide gives 10 to 12 numerical questions in 10 minutes and 60 to 70 minutes for all aptitude tests; another gives a three to five day window. NatWest says 10 days.
• One prep guide estimates a cut score of roughly the 60th to 70th percentile. NatWest does not publish one.