Union route

IBEW lineman apprenticeship

Union outside-line apprenticeships in the construction industry aren’t run by your local. They’re run by nine regional programs (AJATCs), most covering several states. Here they are side by side, from their own pages.

Checked against official pages October 24, 2026. Non-official sources are labeled.

Program	States	Entry test	Passing score	CDL	Window	Fee	Length
SELCATNewnan, GA	AL AR FL GA LA MS NC SC TN	No entrance test published	Not applicable (no test published)	Class A with air brakes for overhead and underground. No permits, for any program.	Closed	$25 application fee	Overhead: 7,000 hours, about 3½ years
ALBATMedway, OH	IL IN KY MD MI OH VA DC WV	Aptitude test before the interview (ALBAT doesn’t name it publicly)	Not published	Class A with air brakes, OR a Class A temporary permit with air brakes plus your driver’s license. Must be valid when you apply and when you’re selected.	Not published	$25 application fee (nonrefundable)	Outside line, substation and cable splicer: 7,000 hours
Cal-NevRiverside, CA	CA NV	Aptitude test at the Riverside office, before the interview	Not published	A valid, unrestricted commercial driver’s license (the class isn’t stated on the page).	Closed	Not published on the pages we read	About 4 years, 7,000 hours
Mo ValleyIndianola, IA	SD ND NE IA WI MO MN	ETA aptitude test (reading comprehension + algebra), on-site	“Minimum passing score”, number not published	Class A with air brakes AND manual transmission, held in one of 17 listed states, plus a DOT physical. If you’re under 21 and your CDL is from a different state than the one you applied for, you have 60 days to get a CDL in that state.	Closed	$30 at application	About 4 years, 7,000 hours minimum, 7 steps
MSLCATWest Jordan, UT	UT ID WY CO MT	ETA aptitude test per its standards (may be after selection)	Standards say the test is not used to disqualify	Class A with no restrictions. Permits NOT accepted. DOT medical certification and a driving record from within 30 days.	Year-round	$25 application fee (nonrefundable)	About 4 years, 7,000 hours minimum
NEATDouglassville, PA	NY NJ ME DE RI CT PA VT NH MAunconfirmed	Math + reading aptitude test, monthly; pass = 3 or higher on 0–9	3 on a 0–9 scale (published)	Class A OR Class B with air brakes; “M” endorsement if you live in New York.	Monthly (1st Mon)	$25 testing fee	About 3½ years, 7,000 hours
NW LineBattle Ground, WA	OR WA ID CA	NJATC (ETA) aptitude test, 3rd Monday of each month	3 or higher (published)	Class A with no E restriction (so not restricted to automatic transmission).	Year-round	$35 application fee	About 3½ years, 7,000 hours, 7 steps
SWLCATBosque Farms, NM	AZ KS NM OK TX	ETA aptitude test before the interview	Not published	Class A required to interview, no permit. A manual-transmission restriction must be removed within 120 days of indenture.	Not published	$30 per area you apply to	7,000 hours on the job; three years of related instruction (“may require more than three and one half years”)
AJEATTAnchorage, AK	AK	Not published for linemen	Not published	Not published on the lineman page	Not published	Not published on the lineman page	Not published on the lineman page

How every program works, in order

Get the CDL. Most programs want a Class A in hand before they’ll interview you. ALBAT says it takes a permit; NEAT says Class A or B. The CDL rules.
Catch the window. NEAT opens the first Monday of each month; MSLCAT and NW Line run year-round or monthly; SELCAT overhead, Cal-Nev and Mo Valley were closed when we checked. Which are open.
Pass the aptitude test if your program gives one before the interview. Most that name it use the electrical training ALLIANCE test: algebra and reading. What’s on it.
Interview. Committee members each score you (SELCAT, Mo Valley, MSLCAT and NEAT publish a 0 to 100 scale, averaged) and you’re ranked on a list that lasts one or two years. This is what decides the order you get called. How it’s scored.
Orientation or boot camp, where climbing is tested: NEAT’s Boot Camp climbing test, MSLCAT’s 3–5 day orientation (climbing wooden poles), Cal-Nev’s climbing class; SWLCAT has an 8-day orientation you must pass. What to expect.
About 7,000 hours on the job, roughly three and a half to four years, with apprentice pay rising by step. Lineman pay.

The test isn’t a lineman test

There is no separate “lineman aptitude test.” Every program that names its test calls it the electrical training ALLIANCE (formerly NJATC) aptitude test: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, and Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes. It’s the same test inside wiremen take. Only two programs publish a passing score, NW Line and NEAT, and both set it at 3. SELCAT’s pages describe no test at all.

Which program is yours

Most programs take applicants from their own territory (SELCAT requires residency; MSLCAT says it accepts applications from any state). Some states are split:

California: Cal-Nev, except Northern California, which is NW Line.
Idaho: MSLCAT, except Northern Idaho, which is NW Line.
Texas: SWLCAT lists its lineman program for Beaumont and Houston. For the rest of Texas, ask SWLCAT; there is no separate Texas program.
Michigan, Ohio, Illinois: ALBAT.
Not covered by any of the nine: Hawaii. There, look at utility apprenticeships and co-ops.

Where these facts come from · all checked October 24, 2026