UA Aptitude Test

Can You Use a Calculator on the UA Aptitude Test?

August 29, 20264 min readBy Michael Briglio

No. The GAN aptitude battery used by most United Association locals does not allow a calculator on any section. Do not bring one, do not plan around one, and do not practise with one.

That is the whole answer, but it has a consequence most applicants underestimate, so it is worth spelling out.

Confirm with your local. Most UA locals use the GAN battery, but a few use other assessments with their own rules, and the local’s own applicant instructions are always the authority.

Why this one rule should reshape your studying

73 of roughly 140 questions on the battery are arithmetic:

Section	Questions	Time
Numerical Computation	28	~21 min
Numerical Reasoning	10	10 min
Problem Solving	35	35 min

That is a little over half the test, done entirely by hand, under a clock. The exam is not really asking whether you understand fractions. It is asking whether you can execute them quickly enough to finish.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Studying with a calculator sitting there. Even people who know the rule do it, because it is faster in the moment and it feels like the arithmetic is the boring part of the problem. It is not the boring part — on this test it is the problem.

Practising with a calculator trains the wrong reflex. On test day, the pause where your hand reaches for a tool that is not there costs you seconds on every question, and seconds are the entire difficulty of this exam.

What to build instead

Fraction fluency. Adding and subtracting unlike fractions, converting mixed numbers, multiplying and dividing. Twenty minutes a day, by hand, for two weeks.
The eighths and sixteenths as decimals. 1/16 = 0.0625, 1/8 = 0.125, 3/16 = 0.1875, 1/4 = 0.25, and the rest of the family. Recall, not calculation.
Cancel before multiplying. 5/6 × 9/10 becomes 1/2 × 3/2 once you divide out the common factors — that is a mental calculation. Multiplying straight across gives you 45/60 to reduce under pressure.
Estimation as a check. Two-thirds of something must be less than the something. This is what catches decimal-place slips, which are the most common no-calculator error there is.

What to actually bring

Photo ID and your invitation or confirmation letter
Two pencils, even if pencils are provided
Anything else your local’s letter specifically lists
Not a calculator, not a smartwatch, and expect to leave your phone outside the room

Scratch paper is generally provided. If your local’s instructions say otherwise, follow your local.

Every question in our free practice tests is built to be solved by hand, with no calculator affordance anywhere — because there is not one on test day either.

Frequently asked

Can you use a calculator on the UA aptitude test?

No. The GAN aptitude battery used by most United Association locals does not permit a calculator on any section. All arithmetic is done by hand. Do not bring one; confirm the specifics with your local, since a few use different assessments.

Is scratch paper provided on the UA aptitude test?

Scratch paper and pencils are typically provided, and you should bring your own pencils anyway. What is not provided is any calculating device. Confirm the details in your local’s applicant instructions.

Why is there no calculator on the aptitude test?

The test is measuring arithmetic fluency itself, not whether you can operate a calculator. Pipe work runs on fractions of an inch, and locals want apprentices who can compute quickly and reliably by hand.

Keep reading

Michael Briglio is a 13-year IBEW Local 134 journeyman electrician and a licensed Illinois educator who teaches a federally recognized construction pre-apprenticeship in Chicago, where he has helped hundreds of applicants get into building-trades unions. He is not a UA member — PipePrep AI is independent and not affiliated with the United Association, any UA local, any JATC, or GAN Human Resources.

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