Securing an NIE Apprenticeship: Test Prep & Application Insights

Northern Ireland Electricity serves Northern Ireland with electricity, just like the title suggests. The company boasts several kinds of jobs, including professional placements, graduate programs for those recently graduated, and an apprenticeship.

This article will highlight everything you need to know about the NIE apprenticeship.

So if you have always dreamed of working for the NIE, this is the best place to learn how to get started.

What Is The NIE Apprenticeship?

The NIE apprenticeship has been in operation for over 50 years. It is an accredited program spanning Northern Ireland to train its participants to become the next best members of Northern Ireland Electricity.

The apprenticeship is not quite a permanent job but rather a position that shows you the ropes. You get to see what your job would look like if you complete the apprenticeship. You have on-the-job training, and you partner with someone already working for the company.

If you are an apprentice, you have a much higher chance of joining the company as an employee than someone who doesn’t partake in the internship.

The apprenticeship can assign members to positions such as:

• Overhead line apprentices
• Underground cable jointers
• Plant maintenance electricians

Additionally, the apprenticeship allows participants to enroll in an electrical engineering program. That program lasts three years and has national recognition in Ireland. The internship starts with a salary of £14,000, but if you complete the program, you will jump to £29,000.

How Do You Land An NIE Apprenticeship?

Before you join the team as an apprentice, you have to apply. The application is the best place to make a name for yourself and stand out to the company.

You want to highlight all of your relevant skills and accomplishments and anything that makes you unique. The hiring managers read applications all day, so they ideally want something that pops. You need to impress them.

Each application is different and varies annually. So, to ensure success, when you get the application, read over it thoroughly before you fill anything out. Once you’ve reviewed the application, take your time answering each question. Answer them in a way that shows the team you fit the role.

This is your chance to demonstrate that you belong on the NIE team. To really get that point across, accentuate the details that prove you deserve a spot.

Before you fill out the application, review the job descriptions for your desired apprenticeship. Study the job descriptions and then align your responses to fit the job description. This shows the person reading the application that you did your research.

Aptitude Test

Once you complete the application, the next step is completing an aptitude test. The aptitude test is one of the main ways the company decides if you are the right fit for the apprenticeship. This aptitude test has questions from several categories, including:

• Mental Arithmetic
• Spatial Awareness
• Engineering Problems
• Design Problems

Let’s review what each of these questions looks like.

• Mental Arithmetic

When you work for an electric company, no matter the position, you need to be able to do mental math. This portion of the test asks several questions that test you on your mental math capabilities and see how capable you are of applying this skill to your daily life.

• Spatial Awareness

This section is all about recognizing dimensions in shapes. For example, can you tell the difference between a 3D cube and a 2D square?

• Engineering Problems

This section focuses on your ability to understand mechanical reasoning in relation to machinery. You will answer questions on levers, pulleys, etc.

• Design Problems

This section focuses a lot on blueprints and floor plans. The questions determine if you understand layouts and how to create floor plans.

Practical Test

After completing the aptitude test, your next step is the practical test. The practical test focuses more on hands-on tasks than the above-mentioned aptitude test. The aptitude test is all online, while the practical test is in person.

Therefore, you will probably take the practical test at the same time as other people. You have to sign up for a specific assessment day for a proctor to give you the exam.

The test asks you questions relating to your proposed job. Say you want to be a cable jointer. The questions might ask how you relay the cable and explain it or demonstrate it. Another question could ask you to show the proctor how you would install a cable in an overhead unit.

Interview

Suppose you’ve passed all of the previous requirements. Congratulations! Now it is time for the interview. The interview takes note of all your previous job experience and skills and how you best fit the job. The interviewer will ask if you have any strengths or weaknesses.

For this question, it is important to focus on how you can incorporate your strengths and weaknesses into the job. Be specific. Use past examples of times your strengths and weaknesses came in handy at your other jobs.

Make sure you brush up on what the job requirements are for your desired apprenticeship. This way, you won’t struggle to answer the interviewer’s questions, and you will impress them with your research.

Preparing this way also allows you time to gather your thoughts and think of any questions you have for the team.

This will also dazzle the interviewer and show how much time and effort you put into your application. It will also show that you are serious about the position.

How Can I Prepare For The NIE Apprenticeship Test?

Hands down, the best way to prepare is through using online practice tests and guides. The esteemed career and testing preparation company Job Test Prep has a tailored NIE Apprenticeship prep package to help you land your dream apprenticeship with NIE.

Job Test Prep offers three separate prep packs:

1. A one-week subscription for £39
2. A one-month subscription for £49
3. A three-month subscription for £69

Each package contains:

• 24 numerical reasoning tests to make sure you pass this portion of the aptitude test. The practice tests ask questions similar to the ones asked on the actual aptitude test.
• 9 mechanical reasoning tests that ask similar questions to the ones on the actual aptitude test.
• 12 spatial reasoning tests that ask similar questions to the ones on the actual aptitude test.
• Full answer explanations show you how to answer questions and explain if you answered a question incorrectly. It shows you why each answer is correct or incorrect. So even if you answered a question correctly, you could review why you did so.
• Tips to help you get to the correct answer. You can review some pointers to help you answer the questions to the best of your ability.
• Tutorials for when you have trouble with a particular portion of the test.
• 24/7 support from the website. If you have an issue, you can always contact a chat support line.
• Money-back guarantee. If you do not find Job Test Prep’s packages helpful, don’t worry, you can get all of your money back.

Conclusion

An NIE apprenticeship is a renowned position within NIE in Northern Ireland. The apprenticeship position serves as a gateway into a career within the company. You receive on-the-job training and have a supervisor already employed at the company that shows you what the job is like.

To land an apprenticeship, you can rely on Job Test Prep to prepare you to ace your application, aptitude test, practical exam, and interview. Good luck!