Leonardo UK apprentices must be eligible for Security Check clearance, which usually means five years living in the UK, before any test counts

Leonardo UK lists game-based assessments and an on-demand video at its second stage, and candidates describe numerical or maths tests in some years and at some sites. Our reasoning test is a fair rehearsal for that numerical work and for reading carefully under time, which also helps with the instructions inside game tasks.

Our test is not a game and is not a video interview, and those are the two formats Leonardo itself names. Most candidate accounts of maths tests are from 2017 to 2019, so they may describe an older process. Leonardo does not publish time limits, a vendor for the games or a pass mark.

Leonardo UK builds radar, electronic warfare systems and helicopters, and it says early careers applicants must be eligible for UK security clearance, normally to Security Check level, which includes at least five years of permanent residency in the UK. Clearance is carried out by United Kingdom Security Vetting after an offer, so you do not need to hold it when you apply.

Leonardo also says it cannot sponsor visas for early careers vacancies. If either rule might affect you, email the recruitment team listed on the FAQ before you spend time on games and videos. It is a straightforward question that recruiters answer often.

Unusually, Leonardo gives a full timetable for its electronics, defence and security apprenticeships: applications open at the end of September, online testing runs November to March, assessment centres February to April, conditional offers in May and induction in September. The helicopter scheme starts the following August.

Use it. Applying in October means you sit the online stage in November or December, well before exam season, and an early assessment centre slot in February leaves revision time intact. Late applicants can find their assessment centre landing in the middle of mock exams.

Leonardo lists two things at stage two: an on-demand video interview and game-based assessments. For the helicopter scheme, its FAQ says the video runs on HireVue, with several competency-based questions and practice questions first. Use every practice question: they let you check lighting, sound and how long the thinking time feels.

For the games, there is no answer key. Rest, use a laptop or tablet with a responsive screen, and take each tutorial seriously. Our game-based assessments guide explains what these tasks tend to measure. If you also want to sharpen numbers in case a maths test appears, as some past candidates describe, try our numerical reasoning test.

Candidate accounts describe one or two days with group exercises, brief individual tasks and an ice-breaker. A Level 6 apprentice writing for UCAS mentioned preparing a STEM-related presentation in advance. One candidate recalled being invited to an assessment day in Edinburgh after completing online tests.

If you are asked to prepare a presentation, choose a topic you can explain to a non-specialist in five minutes, such as how a sensor or a simple circuit works, and practise answering one follow-up question. Clarity beats ambition.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Leonardo UK has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Candidates on Glassdoor and RateMyApprenticeship describe online numerical or maths and awareness tests before the assessment day, mostly in reviews from 2017 to 2019.
• Candidates describe assessment centres of one or two days with group work, brief individual tasks and an ice-breaker.
• An apprentice writing for UCAS says she prepared a STEM-related presentation for her assessment day.
• Some candidates mention a telephone or video interview in addition to the assessment centre.