Formal qualifications are dominating HR procedures in the education sector so that personality is ignored when making hiring decisions, according to workplace psychologists.

According to a survey commissioned by workplace psychologists OPP, 44% of employers in the education sector claim formal qualifications are one of the most important factors when recruiting - compared with a natural average of 28%.

And three quarters of employers in the education sector said experience was one of the most important factors in hiring staff - compared with a national average of 56%.

But more than a third (34%) do not use psychometric tests as they believe they would make staff uncomfortable.

Robert McHenry, CEO of OPP, said: "Formal qualifications and experience are incredibly important, but they need to be placed in the right context. It is not enough to rely on these alone - they need to be augmented with some serious insight into more personal qualities.

"Factors like preferred communication style, ability to adapt, reactions to stress, emotional stability and social boldness are incredibly difficult to judge on the basis of qualification or reference."