AM2 Assessment: AM2 Assessment Structure — versions, sections and times

AM2 stands for Achievement Measurement 2. NET (National Electrotechnical Training), the industry charity that owns it, describes it as the independent assessment of the occupational competence of electrical installation apprentices for more than 30 years. For apprentices on the Installation / Maintenance Electrician standard it is the end-point assessment (the AM2S). You install, inspect and test, isolate and find faults in a bay at a NET centre while an assessor watches, then sit an online knowledge test.

1. A1 Safe working practices and planning: 1 hour (+10 min reading). Isolate the assessment board, risk-assess, plan.
2. A2–A6 Composite installation: 10 hours 30 minutes (+15). From a TP&N distribution board, to the diagrams and specification.
3. B Inspection, testing and certification: 3 hours 30 minutes (+20). GN3 tests, EIC and schedules.
4. C Safe isolation of circuits: 30 minutes (+5). Three tasks.
5. D Fault diagnosis and rectification: 2 hours (+5). Type, location and rectification of each fault.
6. E Assessment of applied knowledge: 1 hour 30 minutes (+5). 45 multiple-choice questions, four books provided.

NET: the assessor answers a series of yes-or-no questions on whether you met the required standard in each area, photographs are taken as evidence, and results are moderated and audited. There are no quotas. The marking criteria are confidential, so NET publishes no pass mark for the practical sections (the only one it publishes is 21 of 30 for the original AM2S knowledge test). Safe isolation has no margin for error, and NET is clear that safe work which does not follow the specification does not pass.

NET surveyed about 1,200 candidates who failed first time (January 2026). 54% did not feel fully prepared, mostly in fault finding (44%) and inspection and testing (36%), and many had little chance to do those at work. 83% had prepared from unofficial videos. NET’s advice: use its Readiness for Assessment Checklist, Pre-Assessment Manual and Top Tips videos, and only sit when the checklist is honestly true.

Elec-Mate’s AM2 course follows the AM2S v1 section by section, with the differences for the AM2 and original AM2S, simulators for safe isolation, testing and fault diagnosis, a mock AM2 day and a 24-decision walk-through of the whole assessment. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NET.