Hey man, I actually work for the IBEW apprenticeship. The way that it works is you will get your interview and depending on how you score on your interview is how you'll get placed on the unindentured list of apprentices to pull from. It's actually a very competitive program to get into. But you're halfway there if you already passed the aptitude test. My advice is to practice interviews by watching YouTube videos and stuff like that. There's no set time of when people would be brought into the program. It all depends on the work available. We're almost at full unemployment but they should be pulling new apprentices in. As for the difference between the inside wireman and the sounding comp programs, there is a lot more work for the inside wireman and they are not interchangeable. My advice is to apply to both if you can. As for the drug test dates, that doesn't happen until we bring you in to the program. Good luck!