IBEW Aptitude Test Practice: the NJATC Electrical Apprenticeship Test
The aptitude test for IBEW and NECA electrical apprenticeships is written by the electrical training ALLIANCE, formerly the NJATC, and given by your local Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC). It is two timed tests in one session, Algebra and Functions and Reading Comprehension, with no calculator. Practise each test on its own clock, or both back to back.
Also called the NJATC aptitude test, the JATC aptitude test, the electrical training ALLIANCE aptitude test or the electrician apprenticeship test.
Unlimited practice on all 3 tests for £10. One-time payment, no subscription.
Free Test
Free to try with a free account. Unlock this provider for unlimited practice.
Algebra and Functions
The first test of the IBEW and NJATC electrical apprenticeship aptitude battery: 33 questions in 46 minutes, with four answers each and no calculator. Working out formulas, equivalent formulas, number patterns, when a formula is positive or negative, and reading tables.
Premium Tests
Reading Comprehension
The second test of the IBEW and NJATC electrical apprenticeship aptitude battery: 36 questions in 51 minutes on six passages, with the passage beside the question. Stated details, what a passage implies and what it is about, answered from the text alone.
The two tests
Both are sat in one session, Algebra and Functions first, with a short break between them. Each test has its own clock, and both have to be finished on the day: a test you leave unfinished is scored on what you answered.
Algebra and Functions
33 questions in 46 minutes, four answers each
Working out a formula from given values, equivalent formulas, number patterns, when a formula is positive or negative, and finding the rule in a table.
Practise: Algebra and FunctionsReading Comprehension
36 questions in 51 minutes, four answers each
Passages followed by questions you answer from the text. The real passages are longer than the one in the official sample.
Practise: Reading ComprehensionWant the whole session? The Full Aptitude Test (Both Tests) runs both tests in order, each on its own clock, with no way back to the algebra once reading starts.
From application to the ranked list
Step 1
Apply to your local JATC
Each JATC sets its own minimum requirements, which can include a minimum age, a passed algebra course, a high school diploma or GED, and transcripts.
Step 2
The aptitude test
Algebra and Functions, a short break, then Reading Comprehension. About two and a half hours; plan on three at the test centre.
Step 3
Your result
About two to four weeks later your JATC tells you whether your score qualified. The score itself is not given.
Step 4
Interview
A qualifying score leads to an oral interview with a committee drawn from NECA and the IBEW.
Step 5
Ranked list
The interview and your qualifications give an overall rank. Your name stays on the eligibility list for two years and is called in rank order.
The test decides who is interviewed. Programs often receive four to six times as many applicants as they have openings, and the aptitude test is how a JATC chooses whom to interview. You are told only whether you qualified, so once you are comfortably clear of your JATC's bar, the interview is where your rank is won.
Each JATC sets its own bar. There is no national pass mark. The qualifying score is set by each JATC, sometimes differently for each program it runs, so ask the JATC you are applying to.
Scoring, results and retakes
Number right, nothing deducted
Your score is the number of questions you answer correctly, and there is no penalty for guessing. A blank scores the same as a wrong answer, so mark something on every question before the clock runs out.
Qualified or not, never the score
Results reach your JATC about two to four weeks after the test, and you hear whether your score qualified. Exact scores are not provided, so there is no number to compare with other applicants.
Three to six months before a retake
The wait before a retake is three to six months, so ask your JATC which applies. Testing early makes the new score invalid and starts the wait again, and wilful attempts to break the rule can disqualify you for good.
On the day
Bring photo ID: without it you will not be tested. Arrive at least 15 minutes early. No calculators, pencils are provided, and adjustments must be requested from your JATC before the test, with documentation, not on the day.
How our practice works
The real clocks and counts. 33 questions in 46 minutes and 36 in 51, four answers each, no calculator, and nothing taken off for a wrong answer. Within a test you can move back and forth and change answers until the clock runs out, as you can in a paper booklet.
Your number right, not a pass or fail. Because each JATC sets its own qualifying score, our games report how many you got right, test by test, and which kinds of question cost you marks. They never tell you that you would have qualified.
Our own questions. The algebra is generated fresh each time in the five kinds of question the official sample shows, and the reading passages are written for practice. How many of each kind a real form carries and how many passages it has are not published, so those mixes are ours. Some JATCs test on paper; our practice runs on screen.
Applying to an IEC apprenticeship instead?
Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) chapters do not use this test. Each chapter chooses its own entrance screen, which may cover maths and mechanical reasoning. The algebra practice here still helps with the maths, but mechanical reasoning is not on the IBEW and NECA test. For that, try our mechanical reasoning practice.
Official resources
- electrical training ALLIANCE sample test
One sample question of each kind of algebra question and a short reading passage, with an answer key.
- The application process
Requirements, the two tests, test-day rules, results, retakes and the interview, in the ALLIANCE's own words.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is on the IBEW aptitude test?
Two multiple-choice tests in one session: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, then Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes. Each question has four answers. The test belongs to the electrical training ALLIANCE, formerly the NJATC, and local JATCs give it for IBEW and NECA apprenticeships.
Can I use a calculator?
No. Calculators are not allowed, and a watch with a calculator built in has to come off. Pencils and other materials are provided. You do not need to memorise any formulas: the algebra questions give you the formula to work with.
What score do I need to pass?
There is no single national pass mark. The qualifying score is set by each JATC, and some set a different one for each program, so ask the JATC you are applying to.
Will I see my score?
No. About two to four weeks after the test your JATC tells you whether your score qualified, and exact scores are not provided.
How soon can I retake the aptitude test?
Three to six months, so ask your JATC which applies. Retesting early makes the new score invalid, and leaving before you finish counts as a sitting: you cannot complete the tests on another day.
Is a wrong answer penalised?
No. There is no penalty for guessing, and your score is the number of questions you answer correctly. Answer every question before time runs out.
Do I need to know about electrical work?
No. Previous knowledge of electrical work is not required. The test measures algebra and reading, and the reading passages are answered from the text alone.
Does the IEC use the same test?
No. Independent Electrical Contractors chapters choose their own entrance screen, which may cover maths and mechanical reasoning. Mechanical reasoning is not part of the IBEW and NECA aptitude test.
Companies That Use IBEW Aptitude Test (NJATC)
The aptitude test is not bought by employers. Local Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committees (JATCs), run jointly by the IBEW and NECA, give it to applicants for electrical apprenticeships, after the application is accepted and before the interview. Each training centre below names the test on its own apprenticeship pages or registered standards.
NIETC Portland JATC (IBEW Local 48)
Electrical ApprenticeshipThe NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center tests Inside Electrician and Limited Energy Technician applicants on both ALLIANCE tests, then holds a ten-minute panel interview with IBEW Local 48, the training centre and NECA.
View NIETC Portland JATC (IBEW Local 48) guide →Cincinnati Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 212)
Electrical ApprenticeshipGives the "NJATC Apprenticeship Test Battery" monthly at its training centre, with a three-month wait and a fee before a retest. Interview scores stay on its ranking list for two years.
View Cincinnati Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 212) guide →Chattanooga Electrical JATC
Electrical ApprenticeshipNames the "NJATC Aptitude Test Battery", both tests on their ALLIANCE clocks, with photo ID required and no calculator. A qualifying score leads to a committee interview.
View Chattanooga Electrical JATC guide →Puget Sound Electrical JATC (IBEW Local 46)
Electrical ApprenticeshipIts standards registered with Washington State require "the Aptitude Test prepared by the electrical training ALLIANCE", with a qualifying score set for each programme, and a six-month wait before a retest.
Each JATC sets its own qualifying score and its own wait before a retake, which is three to six months, so ask your JATC for both. IEC chapters do not use this test: each chapter sets its own screen.
Guides and Tips
Read up before you practise: what the tests reward, what catches candidates out, and why shortcuts do not work.
IBEW Algebra and Functions test: how it works
The first test of the IBEW and NECA apprenticeship aptitude battery: 33 multiple-choice algebra questions in 46 minutes, worked with a pencil and no calculator.
Can You Cheat the IBEW Aptitude Test?
Photo ID, no calculator, two separately timed tests under supervision, and a result that says only whether you qualified. Why there is no IBEW shortcut.
IBEW Reading Comprehension test: how it works
The second test of the IBEW and NECA apprenticeship aptitude battery: 36 multiple-choice questions in 51 minutes on passages you answer from the text alone.
IBEW Aptitude Test Score: Qualifying, the Interview and Retakes
You never see your IBEW aptitude test score. What a qualifying result means, why each JATC sets its own bar, how the interview ranks you, and how long you wait to try again.
Practice by Test Type
Compare the same format across every provider that uses it, and see what each one is really measuring.
Numerical Reasoning Test Practice
Tables, charts, percentages and ratios against the clock. The most common screening test on graduate schemes and analyst roles.
Verbal Reasoning Test Practice
Short dense passages and true, false or cannot say answers. Judged on what the text supports, never on what you already know.
About CogniPrep IBEW Aptitude Test Practice
CogniPrep provides practice for the aptitude test battery of the electrical training ALLIANCE, the joint training body of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), formerly the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). Local JATCs give it to applicants for inside wireman, limited energy and other electrical apprenticeships. Candidates also call it the IBEW aptitude test, the NJATC aptitude test, the JATC aptitude test or the electrician apprenticeship test. CogniPrep is not affiliated with the ALLIANCE, the IBEW, NECA or any JATC.
- 3 practice tests: Algebra and Functions, Reading Comprehension, Full Aptitude Test (Both Tests)
- Algebra and Functions: 33 questions in 46 minutes, no calculator
- Reading Comprehension: 36 questions in 51 minutes
- Number right, with no penalty for guessing; you are told only whether you qualified
- The qualifying score is set by each JATC; retakes after three to six months
- United States
Ready to Start Practising?
Sign up for free to try Algebra and Functions, the first test on the day, or unlock all 3 practice tests, including both tests back to back, with unlimited sessions.