How hard is the EIAT, really?

The short answer: the content is not hard, and people still fail it. Those two facts are not in conflict, and understanding why is most of the preparation.

Apprentice Tests is an independent practice resource. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to NEIEP, the IUEC, any local union or any elevator company. Recruitment rules and test formats are set by NEIEP and the locals, and they change — always follow the guidance issued with your own recruitment.

The content is school level

Look at what NEIEP's own study guide describes. Arithmetic with decimals, fractions and percentages. Basic algebra. Levers, pulleys, gears and hydraulics. Reading a passage and choosing the word that fits. Nothing in that list is beyond what a school leaver has met.

NEIEP is also explicit that no prior knowledge of the trade is needed, and the test is not assessing what you already know about elevators.

So why do people fail?

The medium

It is a paper test with no calculator. Most adults have not done long division by hand in years, and the first time you rediscover that is a bad moment to do it under exam conditions. This is the single biggest cause of avoidable marks lost.

The format surprise

The reading section is a cloze passage, not the True/False/Cannot Say format almost all aptitude practice teaches. People who prepared with generic material arrive having drilled the wrong thing. See the reading section guide.

The fifth option

Maths questions offer five answers and the fifth is "No answer". If you have only practised on material where it is never correct, your instinct will be to pick the nearest figure instead of trusting your working.

Walking in cold

Because the content sounds easy, plenty of people do not prepare at all. Then they meet 100 questions on paper against a clock and discover that easy and fast are different things.

What a comfortable pass looks like

You need 70%. That is 70 of 100 questions, so you can afford to get 30 wrong. That sounds generous until you realise a section you have never seen the format of can cost you a large chunk of 35 questions on its own.

Aiming for exactly 70% is the mistake. A bad morning, an unfamiliar format or one slow section and you are under. Aim well clear so that a poor run in one section does not sink you.

Which section do people find hardest?

It varies, but for applicants who have been out of education a while it is usually the maths — specifically working with fractions and decimals by hand. For those straight out of school it is more often the mechanical section, because the reasoning is practical rather than taught.

The useful move is to find out which one is yours early rather than spreading your time evenly. Take a timed section from each on our EIAT practice page and let the results decide where your time goes.

How long to prepare

If the arithmetic is fresh, a couple of weeks of regular practice is plenty. If it is not, give yourself longer — hand arithmetic comes back quickly but it does need reps. See the study plan for a worked schedule.