Get Accurate Industrial Skills Test (IST) Practice and Pass Your Assessment

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The Industrial Skills Test, also known as the Light Industrial Skills Test, consists of three sections: Reading Comprehension, Numerical Reasoning, and Mechanical Aptitude.

Each of the sections contains a timed multiple choice test that includes around 25 questions.

Typically, the test is required for entry-level industrial jobs without previous experience.

This page will help you prepare for the industrial maintenance skills test and includes a detailed guide and some free sample questions.

JobTestPrep is a leading test prep company that offers accurate practice simulations for hundreds of pre-employment tests. Since 1992, it has helped 1M+ candidates. If you have any additional questions about the Industrial Skills Test, feel free to send us an email, we usually reply within 24 hours.

What is the Industrial Maintenance Skills Test?

The Industrial Maintenance Skills test is an assessment used to determine the level of reading comprehension, numerical reasoning, and mechanical aptitude of prospective employees for a range of mechanically oriented occupations.

In its current form, the Industrial Skills Test (IST) concentrates on the skills required for mechanically oriented jobs such as assembly jobs in manufacturing, or processes and operations jobs involving machinery, maintenance, repair, and also professions such as warehouse worker, construction worker, count or stack worker, and maintenance worker.

Industrial Skills Tests gained popularity for their ability to weed out applicants who might be prone to make costly or dangerous mistakes for both the company and themselves. Each section of the test explores different skills while posing questions that are relevant to the role.

What Companies Require the IST?

Smithfield Foods.
Anheuser Busch.
Pacific Gas and Electrical Company.

Relevant IST pages

Industrial Skills Test Sample Questions

Sample Question - Reading Comprehension

Although Britain would not use African troops in Europe, as this would "undermine the dignity of the white man", to Britain’s horror and disapproval, France used some 160,000 Africans from its west African colonies in Europe, with another 65,000 used elsewhere. Britain used some 50,000 African troops and about one million ‘carriers’ in the African campaigns and some 1,000 were used in Mesopotamia. The death rates were high: in the east African campaigns, over 11,000 African soldiers and around 100,000 carriers died; some 22,000 were wounded and/or missing-in-action.

As opposed to Britain, where did France use African soldiers?

A. In Europe
B. In Mesopotamia
C. In the African campaigns
D. In India

The Reading Comprehension section is designed to assess your ability to comprehend text as well as your attention to details. You will be presented with a written text, followed by a question. This section is 30 minutes long and consists of approximately 25 questions.

Sample Question - Numerical Reasoning

A train travels 90 miles in 15 minutes. How many miles does it travel in two hours?

A. 542
B. 720
C. 789
D. 800
D. 942
D. none of these

This section measures an applicant's Numerical skills. You will encounter some basic math questions, word problems, and analysis of charts and graphs. This section is 30 minutes long and consists of approximately 25 questions.

Sample Question - Mechanical Comprehension

Mechanical Comprehension tests usually consist of multiple choice questions, generally relating to an included diagram. The purpose of these questions is to assess a candidate's knowledge of machinery and other physical concepts. A candidate is not usually tested on profession-specific knowledge. Rather, these tests assess the candidate’s inclination, understanding, and intuition concerning a variety of subjects This section is 20 minutes long and consists of approximately 36 questions.

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