What employers actually ask 16-to-25-year-old apprenticeship applicants — and what they are really testing. The 10 questions to prepare, the maths test, trial days, what to wear, and the questions to ask back.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
Expect: why do you want to be an electrician, why this company, what do you know about the apprenticeship, tell me about yourself, examples of hard work and taking instruction, how you handle early starts and physical work, your maths and English grades, and where you see yourself in five years. Employers test attitude, reliability and genuine interest — not electrical knowledge. Many add a GCSE-level maths check without a calculator.
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An apprenticeship interview is not a technical exam. The employer is about to invest around four years of training in you, so every question — however it is phrased — is really asking three things:
Prepare one honest, specific story per question below and you cover all three. Specific always beats polished — interviewers hear rehearsed answers all day, and a real detail ("I helped my uncle first-fix his extension over half term") cuts through instantly.
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Larger employers and training providers often add a short maths and English check — typically GCSE-level arithmetic without a calculator: fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, and reading values off charts or scales. A week of mental-arithmetic practice beforehand genuinely shows. Some also run a practical trial — a workshop task or a day on site. Nobody expects skill; they are watching whether you listen to instructions, ask before guessing, and keep going when a task gets fiddly.
If you want to warm up the theory side, our free Level 2 electrical principles mock exam is the same ground the college units start on — mentioning you have been practising it is itself an answer to "how do we know you are serious?".
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Two or three of these, chosen honestly:
The last thing to know before you discuss money: the legal minimum and the JIB stage rates, so an offer can be judged rather than just accepted. They are all in the apprentice salary guide.
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