BAE Systems marks its graduate verbal and numerical tests automatically against a pass mark. Here is how to get ready

BAE Systems says graduates who pass the competency sift are invited to two online ability tests, one verbal and one numerical, marked automatically against a pass mark. Our reasoning test pairs numerical data questions with verbal passage questions, so the match is closer than for most employers.

BAE does not publish the pass mark, the number of questions or the time allowed on the pages we read. Its apprenticeship route uses gamified challenges and an on-demand video interview instead, which our test does not cover. Several BAE pages also referred to older intakes.

BAE Systems states two things that are rarely said together. Graduate applicants who pass the competency sift take two online ability tests, one verbal and one numerical, and their application goes to a hiring manager only if they meet the pass mark for both. The firm's privacy notice adds that the tests are automatically marked within the test software.

What BAE does not say, on the pages we read, is the mark itself, the number of questions or the time. Any figure you find elsewhere is a guess. The useful consequence is that a pass mark creates a hard line, not a ranking, so the aim is to clear a bar on both tests rather than to be brilliant at one.

Because BAE asks for a pass on the verbal and the numerical test, a strong half does not rescue a weak one. Most candidates have a favourite. If you are quick with numbers but slow at reading, put your practice hours into passages. If it is the other way round, drill tables.

Our free reasoning test gives you both halves in one sitting. Your result shows which half cost you more, and the how to pass reasoning tests guide has a one-week plan built around the weaker one.

When software marks a test against a threshold, nobody weighs a near miss or reads an explanation. That has two practical effects. Accuracy matters more than a flourish of speed, and there is no benefit to answering in a style you think a person would like.

It also means technical problems are costly. Close other programs, use the device you tested, and keep your internet connection stable. If something goes wrong mid-test, contact BAE immediately rather than hoping the result will be reviewed.

The apprenticeship pages describe a different path: a short application, a qualification review, then an online assessment with gamified challenges and an on-demand video interview. A competency-based interview follows.

Games are not a place for reasoning drills. Rest well, use a steady device, and read each set of instructions before the timer starts. For the video, choose two examples from school, work or projects, say what you did and what happened, and practise saying each in a minute.

BAE says its apprentice window opens in November and closes in February, while graduate recruitment runs from the beginning of September and roles may close early. Several pages we read referred to 2023 intakes and were between roughly 500 and 700 days old.

Treat the stage order as reliable and the specifics as provisional. Confirm everything against the live vacancy and the invitation you receive.