Registered for the OIT Ontario Industrial Trades Certification and honestly the study materials out there are really scattered. I spent two hours last week just trying to figure out what percentage of the exam is theory versus hands-on assessment, and I still do not have a clean answer.
From what I can gather, it varies by trade — I am going for general machinist — and the written portion is 120 questions with a 3-hour time limit. The practical component is evaluated separately at an approved shop. But I cannot find a consistent source confirming the passing threshold for the written part specifically.
Has anyone gone through this recently? Particularly curious about whether the metrology section is as heavily weighted as some posts from 2022 suggest. Measuring instruments, tolerances, that sort of thing. I have decent hands-on experience but my test-taking under time pressure has always been rough.
The practical and written are graded separately and you can retake just the written if you pass the practical. That was still the policy last year anyway. Double-check with the Ontario College of Trades before assuming though — things shifted a bit after the regulatory changes.
I did the general machinist OIT about 14 months ago. The written portion passing score was 70% when I took it. Metrology was definitely weighted — I would say 20-25% of the questions touched on measurement, tolerances, or blueprint reading. Do not underestimate the blueprint interpretation questions.
I found the Red Seal study guides helpful even though OIT is provincial. The competency overlap is significant for machinist trades. Some of the old exam outlines from MTCU are still floating around online too.
I felt the same way when I started. I'm working full-time in a shop so I was basically squeezing in study sessions during lunch and after the kids went to bed — it took me a while just to get a handle on what the actual credential requirements even were. What helped me most was finding a focused breakdown of the theory side so I wasn't wasting time on stuff that wasn't going to be tested. I ended up using these free oit credential requirements practice questions which cleared up a lot of the confusion fast.
Honestly the written portion isn't as intimidating once you know what it covers. The practical side you probably already have a feel for from actual trade work, so don't overthink it. Just be consistent with short study blocks and you'll get there.
Just wanted to share a quick update since I've been in the same boat. I took a practice run last week and scored 74%, which honestly wasn't where I wanted to be but it's way better than the 61% I started with. The section that tripped me up most was oit/questions/blueprint reading and technical drawing — I didn't realize how heavily it gets tested until I started drilling it specifically.
I'm booked for the real exam in about three weeks. If you're still figuring out the theory vs practical split, your best bet is to just contact your local apprenticeship office directly because the ratio can vary depending on your trade stream. Good luck to everyone else grinding through this.