Prepare For the Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) Aptitude Test

NIE offers jobs covering a range of disciplines in several locations in Northern Ireland. There are also several starting points with Northern Ireland Electricity, including NIE apprenticeships, the graduate programme, and experienced hire positions. The recruitment process for all jobs contains several stages with a range of assessments.

The application form is usually your first opportunity to introduce yourself to the recruiting team, so use it wisely. Read the guidelines before starting your form, and answer every question carefully. Most Northern Ireland Electricity application forms are also used to demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria for the role you are applying for, so make sure that you know what these criteria are and that you show the recruitment team you have what they are looking for throughout the form.

Also known as the NIE apprenticeship aptitude test, this test is designed to assess whether you have the skills NIE are looking for in their apprentices. This test contains several different question types, each of which is described below.

• Spatial awareness - these questions focus on how well you can visualise shapes from different perspectives: upside down, back to front, and 2d to 3d.
• Mental arithmetic - these questions will look at how well you can make every day work calculations in your head. You need to be able to answer quickly and correctly.
• Engineering problems - these questions will usually test your mechanical reasoning- how well you understand pulleys, levers, gears, and more.
• Design problems - questions like this usually look at how well you can understand 2d plans, for example building floor plans.

If you are successful at the online testing, next up is the apprenticeship practical test on an NIE assessment day. This test is a practical skills test designed to examine your hand skills - i.e. how well you can carry out some of the manual tasks you need for the job.

Most applicants with NIE will have a competency-based interview as part of their recruitment process. The questions in this interview are based on the essential criteria for the role you are applying to. Use the interview to sell yourself, use examples of achievements or challenges you have overcome in the past to frame your skills.

Ahead of the interview, don’t forget to do your homework. Research NIE, the job you are applying to, and the roles, responsibilities, and essential skills needed for the job. Prepare for some of the more common interview questions and use the STAR method to organise examples to use when answering these questions. Also use your research into NIE and your role to build some questions to ask the recruitment team.

Once you have pulled all your preparation together, the final piece of the puzzle is to rehearse delivering your answers. Our interview preparation package will help you with that. 

The Northern Ireland Electricity employment process contains several challenging stages, each of them designed to assess whether you really are someone they want to employ. Show them you are that person by preparing in advance with the materials highlighted on this page.