Inside the elevator apprenticeship: probation, NEIEP classes and the Mechanic Exam

Passing the EIAT and the interview gets you onto a hiring list. This guide covers what comes after the phone call: the probation year, the classes you take with the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), the hours you work on the job, and the Mechanic Exam at the end. Everything here comes from NEIEP's apprentice FAQ and its program catalog (September 2023 edition, linked below). Your local and employer may add their own rules, so treat this as the national framework.

The short version

• Probation: 12 months. In the first six you complete an online NEIEP course (NH002) on safety and the history of the IUEC.
• Classes: eight semesters (100 to 800), each 72 hours with a NEIEP instructor, spread over 18 weeks, in person for four hours one night a week.
• On the job: full-time paid work, usually 2,000 hours a year and 8,000 in total, under the close supervision of a licensed mechanic.
• The finish line: once all semesters, the required practical assessments and at least 8,000 work hours are done, you can sit the Mechanic Exam. Passing it makes you an Elevator Constructor Mechanic.
• Cost: NEIEP says there is no out-of-pocket cost to attend school as an IUEC apprentice.

Year one: probation and NH002

NEIEP's catalog says new apprentices serve a 12-month probationary period and must complete the NH002 New Hire Probationary Program within the first six months. Apprentices who have not completed NH002 cannot start semester classes, so finishing it promptly keeps you on schedule.

The catalog lists NH002's units as:

1. Introduction to Training & Awareness
2. Safety for Basic Tools & Tasks
3. Working Safely
4. Harassment & Discrimination in the Workplace
5. Financial Tools for the Trades
6. Customer Relations
7. Tools for Success: Critical Skills for the Construction Industry
8. Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund for New Hires

NEIEP does not publish a probation "pass mark" in these documents. What it does say is that apprentices must abide by the Disciplinary Code for Apprentice Training in both class and on the job, so treat probation as a year in which attendance, punctuality and safe work are all being noticed.

The eight semesters

Each semester is 72 hours of instruction. According to NEIEP's FAQ, classes combine lecture, discussion, lab work, unit exams, homework and a final exam, and apprentices complete 144 classroom hours a year, which works out to two semesters a year alongside full-time work.

Semester	Title	Examples of what the catalog lists
100	Trade Skills	OSHA 10, American Heart Association first aid and CPR, scaffold training, technical math, measurement, reading installation drawings
200	Hoistway Structures	Tools and material handling, rigging and hoisting, pit structures, guide rail installation, machines and sheaves, car and counterweight assembly, ropes and belts
300	Electrical Fundamentals	Math review, units and prefixes, equations and formulas, ratio and proportion, electrical safety, Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits, magnetism
400	Electrical Theory & Application	Meters, transformers, DC motors and generators, AC motors, with labs
500	Installation	Piping and wiring the machine room, hoistway and car, start-up procedures, door and cab installation, freight doors, dumbwaiters, maintenance
600	Solid State	Math for Ohm's law, AC theory and transformers, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors, analog and digital integrated circuits
700	Power & Logic	Circuit tracing, relays and timers, power control, logic controls, push button and collective systems, hydraulic controller troubleshooting
800	Advanced Topics in Elevators	Hydraulic jacks and maintenance, escalators and moving walks, residential and LULA elevators, platform and chair lifts, rack and pinion hoists

NEIEP says apprentices who complete Semester 100 are OSHA 10 certified, hold an American Heart Association CPR card, and may challenge the Scaffold and Access Industry Association's scaffolding certification.

On-the-job learning: 8,000 hours

The catalog sets on-the-job learning (OJL) at 2,000 hours in each of four years, 8,000 in total. During those hours you work under the close supervision of a licensed Elevator Constructor Mechanic and apply what you learned in class to real installation, service, repair and modernization work. You must stay enrolled in your semester classes at the same time as you build up hours; the two run together, not one after the other.

Your pay rises as you progress. NEIEP's FAQ says IUEC apprentices earn a percentage of the mechanic rate based on how much of the apprenticeship they have completed. In its general section on apprenticeships, it adds (citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics) that a first-year apprentice's wages are typically 40 to 50% of a journeyperson's, rising by a fixed percentage after each completed year. Your local's contract sets the actual steps. See elevator mechanic salary and apprentice pay for the figures.

The Mechanic Exam

NEIEP describes the Mechanic Exam as a capstone exam covering all eight semesters. You become eligible once you have completed all required courses, the specified practical assessments, and at least 8,000 OJL hours. Completing the apprenticeship and becoming an Elevator Constructor Mechanic depends on passing it; NEIEP's FAQ says apprentices who pass become full-fledged IUEC Mechanics.

NEIEP also offers a review course, CE025 Mechanic Review Eligibility Course: 72 hours, available online or in a classroom, with all eight semesters as a prerequisite. The catalog says it reviews the whole apprenticeship and maintains exam eligibility through active classroom hours.

NEIEP's public materials do not give the Mechanic Exam's number of questions, time limit or pass mark, so be wary of anyone who quotes them as fact. Ask your instructor or local.

State licensing is separate

The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that most states require elevator and escalator installers and repairers to be licensed. BLS advises checking with your state, and local rules can add to that, so check what applies where you work. Your local will know the rules in its area.

College credit

NEIEP has partnerships with colleges that award credit for apprenticeship coursework and work hours. Its 2023 catalog lists, among others, Ivy Tech Community College, Thomas Edison State University, Rowan University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Credit amounts and tuition vary, so check current details with NEIEP and the college.

Why the EIAT math keeps mattering

The skills the EIAT checks are the ones the classroom builds on straight away:

• Semester 100 includes a technical math review of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages and order of operations, then area, volume, powers and roots, plus measurement with calipers and scales.
• Semester 300 opens with more math: equations and formulas, ratio and proportion, and then Ohm's law calculations relating voltage, current and resistance.
• Semesters 200 and 800 cover counterweights and hydraulic theory, the same physics as the EIAT's balance and hydraulics questions in a real setting.

If you are rusty on fractions and decimals, order of operations or reading a tape measure, fixing that now helps twice: once on the test and again in your first semester.

Practical tips for your first year

• Finish NH002 early. You cannot start semester classes without it, and the deadline is the first six months.
• Plan around class night. One evening a week for 18 weeks, twice a year, on top of full-time work. Sort out transport and family commitments before the semester starts.
• Keep a work notebook. Write down what you did each day and the terms you heard. It makes the classroom material click faster when you have already seen the part on a job.
• Ask questions on site. The supervision is there so you learn safely. A mechanic would rather explain something twice than fix a mistake.
• Keep your paperwork in order. Hours, class records and certifications all feed into eligibility for the Mechanic Exam.

First, get in

None of this starts until you clear the EIAT and rank well at interview. Our EIAT practice tests are original practice for the reading, mechanical and math skills the test covers, and the recruitment guide explains how to catch your local's next application window.