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IBEW apprenticeship

The IBEW ranking list (waiting list): what your number means

By the nodiexam team Updated

After the interview, your JATC puts your score on its ranking list, often called the waiting list, and offers places from the top down when its contractors need apprentices. Your rank is your place in that line today. It moves as people are called and as new applicants are scored, and your name stays on the list for one or two years, depending on the program.

Programs call it the ranking list, the ranked pool, the eligibility list or the waiting list. Your JATC is the local committee of the IBEW and NECA that runs the apprenticeship. The rules below come from the programs' own pages and from apprenticeship standards they registered with a state or the U.S. Department of Labor. Each rule applies to the program named. The letter from your own JATC is the one that counts for you.

How your rank is built

The electrical training ALLIANCE (etA), which sets the national program, describes it this way: your overall ranking comes from the interview and a review of your qualifications, and names leave the list in rank order. Programs build that ranking in different ways, and many use the interview score alone:

  • At Missouri Valley JATC, each committee member scores you from 0 to 100, and the average goes on the ranking list. SEJATC in Ohio and the Lansing JATC in Michigan describe the same 0 to 100 average.
  • In the NECA and IBEW national standards that North Texas Electrical JATC adopted in 2026, the panel rates you, and aptitude test scores are not shared with the interview committee.
  • Some programs add more. For example, the Sacramento training center scores each applicant on the application, the test result and the interview, and the total sets the rank.
  • Minneapolis and CCETI in Fresno, which give the GAN test, build their 0 to 100 score from the GAN test, the Personal Experience Form and a letter of recommendation.

So a high aptitude score helps you rank higher only at programs that count it. The aptitude test page has more on that.

What your number means

Your rank is your place in line at this moment. When contractors need new apprentices, the JATC offers places from the top. Under the national standards, selection starts with the top score and goes down the list, and the JATC cannot skip over anyone. SEJATC gives an example: if it needs 5 apprentices, the top 5 scores on the list at that time are chosen.

The number moves in both directions:

  • Up, as classes start. NIETC starts classes of up to 18 from the top of its list, so your rank rises as classes start and can fall when new applicants score higher.
  • Down, as new applicants are scored. Southwest Washington's standards put it plainly: your score stays the same, but your rank may change as more interviews are held.

Applicants report large moves. For example, one applicant wrote that their rank at Local 595 rose from the 70s to 30 after the list was first posted. And one applicant wrote that their Local 11 inside wireman rank moved from 199 to 53 in about two months as large groups were called.

What a rank does not tell you is when you will be called. No program we checked publishes a wait time, because class starts follow the work its contractors have. NIETC says the economy has more effect on the timeline than how many people are on the list.

How long is the IBEW waiting list?

Your name stays on the ranking list, also called the waiting list, for a set time from your interview that each program fixes, and then you apply again unless you were called. The two common rules differ, since the etA says your name stays on the eligibility list for two years, and after that you reapply, while the NECA and IBEW national standards adopted by North Texas Electrical JATC keep you on the ranked list for one year from your interview. Programs use both, as the table shows, so check the expiry date in your own letter. No program we checked publishes how long the wait for a call takes, because classes start when contractors need apprentices. Some programs let you re-interview sooner if you add trade work or classes.

ProgramHow long you stay listed, and how to get a new score
electrical training ALLIANCE, general descriptionthe etA says your name stays on the eligibility list for two years, and after that you reapply
North Texas Electrical JATC, Dallas, national standards adopted January 6, 2026the NECA and IBEW national standards adopted by North Texas Electrical JATC keep you on the ranked list for one year from your interview
NIETC, Portland, Oregontwo years from your first interview. NIETC may grant a re-interview after six months if you add 1,000 hours of trade-related work or 6 credits of trade classes
Hampton Roads Electrical JATC, IBEW Local 1340, Virginiaone year
SEJATC, Steubenville, Ohiotwo years, with new scores added each month, and if 5 apprentices are needed the top 5 on the list are chosen
Lansing Electrical JATC, IBEW Local 665, Michigantwo years, and the letter gives your score but not your place on the list
Ann Arbor Electrical JATC, IBEW Local 252, Michigantwo years, with a re-interview if you add two trade classes or 450 hours of electrical construction work
Southwest Washington Electrical JATC (standards amended October 17, 2024)two years, and a second interview after six months needs 1,000 hours of electrical work or two college classes
Minneapolis Electrical JATC, IBEW Local 292, GAN testup to one year, with hiring usually in late spring to early summer, starting from number 1
CCETI, IBEW Local 100, Fresno, GAN testup to one year, with hiring year round from number 1, and a GAN retest only after a year on the list
Missouri Valley JATC, outside lineone year, and you can reapply after 90 days with 450 hours of line work or 2 industry classes
NW Line JATC, outside linetwo years, and you can ask to re-interview after three months with 500 hours of industry work

How to move up while you wait

You can't change your place by asking. What you can change is your score, through a re-interview, and every re-interview rule in the table asks for the same things. Those are documented hours of trade work or passed trade classes since your last interview.

  • Get hands-on work. NIETC suggests that applicants with little construction experience get hands-on trade work, which it calls more useful than taking classes. Keep pay stubs and a letter from each employer listing your duties, since re-interview rules ask for proof.
  • Take a trade-related class at a community college if work is hard to find. NIETC, Ann Arbor, Southwest Washington and Missouri Valley all count passed classes, and NIETC wants one of them to be electrical.
  • Stay reachable. Under the national standards, you count as having asked to leave the list if your contact details go out of date or you don't answer the JATC promptly, offers included. Missouri Valley texts the top applicant, who has to call back by 9 a.m. the next morning.
  • Know how your program reports rank. NIETC emails your rank once and sends nothing more unless your number comes up, while Lansing's letter gives your score but not your place on the list.

How hard is it to get in?

No program we checked publishes an acceptance rate or the odds for a given rank. What they do say is that demand is high: Phoenix and Boston both say they receive thousands of applications each year for a limited number of places. Applicant reports give a sense of scale, as reports and not as rules. For example, one applicant wrote that their interview panel said 500 people had applied for 50 places. Also, one applicant wrote that, eight or nine months after an interview score of 89 out of 100, about 200 people were still ranked ahead of them.

Questions people ask

How long is the IBEW waiting list?

Each program sets how long your name stays on its list, usually one or two years from your interview. No program we checked publishes how long a wait takes, because classes start when contractors need apprentices. If your time runs out before you are called, you apply again.

What is a good IBEW interview score?

There is no published good score. Where each panel member scores you from 0 to 100 and the scores are averaged, your chances depend on how your score compares with the others on the list when a class is picked. One applicant wrote that, eight or nine months after an interview score of 89, about 200 people were still ranked ahead.

Why did my rank go down?

New applicants were interviewed and scored higher than you. Programs add new scores to the same list, so your rank can fall even though your score has not changed. It rises again as people above you are called or their time on the list ends.

Can I find out where I am on the list?

That depends on the program. NIETC in Oregon emails your rank once, Lansing's letter gives your score but not your place, and CCETI in Fresno posts ranks by application number. Ask your training center how it shares rank.

How hard is it to get into the IBEW?

No program we checked publishes an acceptance rate. Phoenix and Boston say they get thousands of applications a year for a limited number of places. Your odds depend on your local, its contractors' need for apprentices that year, and your score against the others on the list.

Sources

Facts on this page come from these pages. We checked each one on the date shown.