Aptitude Institute: better career advice
Aptitude Institute Ltd is a private company formed to provide answers to a pressing social problem – the enormous waste of effort, money and human potential that flows from not matching the right people to the right career choices.
The company’s vision is to provide clients with a personalised, specific list of career options, and employers with meaningful reports that will aid recruiting the right people for their businesses.
Company founder Julene McCorkindale identified the global need for an improved career planning and assessment tool. In response she developed SortMyCareer and tested it in a pilot study of 500 people in the United States and New Zealand.
She engaged Irvin Shambaugh, as Test Developer. Irvin has over 40 years experience in the study of and development of aptitude testing.
The company’s work is overseen by an Advisory Board of experts in the field to ensure the integrity of the assessment process.
Aptitude Institute is committed to ongoing research and constantly improving and refining our services.
Should you want to know more, please contact us
Our Product : SortMyCareer
SortMyCareer is an integrated online tool that is designed to provide clear direction for further education, training and work, and to provide a wealth of detailed information about jobs by offering the following features:
- A robust aptitude test developed by an internationally recognised test developer, Irvin Shambaugh
- An on-line portal that is used to access the aptitude test
- A tailor made report that identifies career options that are the best fit for an individual
- link for test users to O*NET the US Labour Department’s benchmark online tool which provides comprehensive occupational information
- Comprehensive links about careers via the SortMyCareer portal, which take users directly to useful, relevant information about specific jobs
SortMyCareer is not available to individuals but aimed at organisations that have an interest in helping fit the right people into the right jobs, such as employers, government departments, social agencies, training and technical institutes, and secondary and tertiary education providers.
To find out more please contact us
Our People : High levels of expertise and oversight
Test Developer:
Irvin Shambaugh
- Research coordinator for Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation 1965-76
- Chief Scientist for the Ball Foundation for Industrial Testing 1974-76
- President, Chief Scientist and Senior Test Administrator for the Aptitude Inventory Measurement Service based in Dallas Texas 1976 - Present
Founder and Managing Director:
Julene McCorkindale
- Extensive marketing and sales expertise
- A passionate commitment to community development and economic development
- A proven track record in online business as a shareholder and sales lead for a successful online tax refunds business
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Advisory Board Member:
Dr Mike Reid PhD
Founder and CEO of Innovative Learning Limited, a developer of online learning technology and competency tested course material for the Health, Disability and Education sectors..
- Clinical Director of the following organisations: - Institute of Applied Human Services - MST New Zealand - Richmond NZ - Community Care Trust
- Consultant to the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Auckland College of Education, Mental Health Services (Cook Islands) and Disability Services (Queensland, Australia)
Advisory Board Member:
Dr Wally Olsein Ed.D
Director of Santa Ynez Valley Special Education Consortium
Has held a number of positions and has a special interest in and passion for education including working in the following roles:
- School Principal (several locations)
- Director of Special Education/Principal Juvenile Centre (8 sites)
- Director of State and Federal Programs
- Coordinator of Year round Education
- Director of Bilingual Education/grants writer
- Special Education Consultant
- Director Emeritus
Advisory Board Member:
Murray Downes
General Manager UPSTART, a Dunedin based business incubator
- 12 years with Accident Compensation Corporation in Administrative, IT and Senior Management roles
- 12 years with Datapoint Corporation in sales and marketing and management roles in New Zealand and Europe – technology sales, computer telephony integration. Senior Manager Datapoint (European Operations)
- 10 years consulting: 5 years New Zealand; 5 years offshore (North America and Europe) – technology, business strategy and planning, project management, sales, channel operations, software sales to Fortune 500 companies
- A degree assessor for the Centre for Assessment of Prior Learning at Otago and Christchurch Polytechnics
- An active Business Mentor
- A qualified Industrial Engineer
