Fitness Tests
PLC certification online, earned title by title.
Your level shows how much you’ve trained. A certified title proves you can do the job. Each of the ten titles, from Trainee to Master Integrator, has its own practical test on working 3D machines: drawn fresh for you, on the clock, with no hints, so a copied answer won’t pass it. Pass, and you get a certificate any employer can check from your CV or LinkedIn.
The Trainee test is free. The rest, and every certificate, are part of Pro.
Why it carries weight
Anyone can paste an answer. Nobody can paste a title.
A training mission can be passed with an answer found online. That’s fine for a workout, but it proves nothing to an employer. A title test is built so it can’t be copied, which is why its certificate means something.
A different test every time
Every sitting draws its own jobs, with new tag names, new numbers and a different fault. The answer someone posted on a forum won’t fit the job you get.
Marked where you can’t see
Your program runs on our server against tests you never see, on the clock, with no hints and no worked answers.
Checked in one click
Put the link on your CV or LinkedIn. An employer opens it and sees the test you passed, the jobs it drew, the machines, the language you wrote and the date.
Ranked up, not handed out
Like ranking up in a game: XP earns the level, then you pass its fitness test. Ten titles, each test harder than the last.
Coming in 2027 CPD accreditation and City & Guilds Assured status, so your certified titles carry a recognised mark in many countries.
Your titles
Your path to certification, wired up
Your XP closes each contact, so the power reaches every title your level holds. A test never sits in that line: it can't hold you back. Pass a title's test and its gold lamp lights. That title is Certified.
Title tests
How you earn it: a practical test, not a quiz
A title is certified the way a job is done: real code on a working machine, with the clock running and nobody to ask.
On the clock
From 10 minutes for Trainee to 75 for Master Integrator. One test at a time.
No hints, no answers
Practice checks tell you if you're close. The hidden tests run when you hand the job in.
Never holds you back
Levels and titles keep coming with XP as always. Fail a test and nothing is lost: sit it again with a fresh draw.
The hands on skills AI can’t do for you. Titles you prove on a working machine, against the clock. As AI writes more of the code, this is what employers still need to see: can you find the fault and put it right. New kinds of job join the tests as they're built: reading the drawing, using the meter, the breakdown, safe isolation and commissioning a machine. More on AI PLC programming
The ladder
Ten titles, ten tests, harder as you climb
The same ten titles you earn with your level, from Trainee to Master Integrator. Each test opens when your level reaches its title. New kinds of job join the tests as they're built: breakdowns for the technicians, commissioning near the top.
Title 1 · Levels 1 to 3
Trainee
Free testFirst shift on the tools
Can make an output obey its conditions.
10 minutes · Permission to run
Title 2 · Levels 4 to 6
Apprentice
PRO (needs Pro)Builds it, and finds what's wrong
Writes starts, stops and timers, and finds a fault in someone else's code.
25 minutes · Build it + Fault in the code
Joining this test Safe to touch: isolation and lockout
Opens at level 4
Title 3 · Levels 7 to 9
Junior Technician
PRO (needs Pro)Counts on it
Handles counters and one-shots, and fixes faults in them.
25 minutes · Build it + Fault in the code
Joining this test Reading the drawings and the meter
Opens at level 7
Title 4 · Levels 10 to 12
Technician
PRO (needs Pro)Keeps the plant running
Works with measured signals and finds faults in function block diagrams.
25 minutes · Fault in a diagram + Build it
Joining this test The Breakdown: night shift faults
Opens at level 10
Title 5 · Levels 13 to 15
Senior Technician
PRO (needs Pro)Trusted on the night shift
Fixes batch sequences and signal faults under pressure.
40 minutes · Batch sequence fault + Fault in a diagram
Joining this test Swap it: replace a failed part · Calibration and loop checks
Opens at level 13
Title 6 · Levels 16 to 18
Controls Technician
PRO (needs Pro)Reads a running plant
Works out what equipment is really doing, and makes the code cope.
40 minutes · Watch and diagnose + Fault in the code
Joining this test Online like the real thing
Opens at level 16
Title 7 · Levels 19 to 21
Controls Engineer
PRO (needs Pro)Designs it to last
Diagnoses plants and repairs sequences, on the clock.
50 minutes · Watch and diagnose + Batch sequence fault
Joining this test Drives and PID with the makers' blocks
Opens at level 19
Title 8 · Levels 22 to 24
Senior Controls Engineer
PRO (needs Pro)Owns the whole machine
Investigates a two tank transfer and makes the code handle what's found.
50 minutes · Two tank transfer
Joining this test Networks inside the job
Opens at level 22
Title 9 · Levels 25 to 27
Commissioning Engineer
PRO (needs Pro)Brings machines to life
Investigates a heating and cooling batch and makes it safe.
50 minutes · Jacketed batch
Joining this test Commission it: find the installer's mistakes
Opens at level 25
Title 10 · Levels 28 to 30
Master Integrator
PRO (needs Pro)Trusted with the hardest jobs
A long shift: a whole plant to diagnose and a batch sequence to repair.
75 minutes · Plant investigation + Batch sequence fault
Joining this test Legacy rescue · Safety you prove by breaking it · Motion lab
Opens at level 28
Proof for employers
A PLC certificate anyone can check
Every certified title comes with a certificate: which test you passed, the jobs it drew, the machines and the language you wrote. It has its own page, so an employer can check it, and it goes on your LinkedIn profile in one click. It isn’t an accredited qualification yet: it’s proof you passed a practical test. CPD accreditation and City & Guilds Assured status are coming in 2027. For the makers' own exams, college certificates and apprenticeships, read our guide to PLC certification.
- A check page at plcgym.com, private until you share it
- Add to LinkedIn, filled in for you
- A link for your CV: one click and an employer sees what you passed
- A PDF to print or attach to an application
PRO (needs Pro) Certificates are part of Pro.
This certifies that
Your name
passed the practical test for
Trainee
- Permission to run
Online PLC certification: questions
What people ask before they sit a title test.
Can you get a PLC certification online?
Yes, in two ways. Some online courses give you a certificate when you finish. A Fitness Test certificate is earned differently: you pass a timed practical test on a working machine, marked by our server, and the certificate says exactly which jobs you did. The makers' own certifications, such as Siemens and Rockwell's, mostly need their paid courses first.
How do I get a title certified?
Your title comes with your level, as it always has: Trainee at level 1, up to Master Integrator at level 28. Once your level reaches a title, its test opens. Each job is drawn fresh for you, with new tag names, new numbers and, for a fault, a different fault, so no two tests are the same. There are no hints, and our server marks your program against hidden tests. Pass every job and the title is Certified.
What if I don't pass?
Nothing is lost. Your level and your title stay exactly as they are, because they come from XP. The test only adds the Certified seal and the certificate. Sit it again with a fresh draw, up to 5 times a day.
How long is a test?
From 10 minutes for Trainee to 75 minutes for Master Integrator. The clock starts when you press Start, and you can sit one test at a time.
Are Fitness Tests free?
The Trainee test is free with a free account. The other nine tests, and every certificate, are part of Pro.
Is it an accredited PLC certification?
Not yet. It proves you passed a timed practical test on PLC Gym's machines, and anyone can check it on its own page. It isn't a supervised exam or a recognised qualification today. CPD accreditation and City & Guilds Assured status are coming in 2027. It sits well beside a college course, an apprenticeship or a maker's own training, and gives an employer something real to look at.
Which PLCs can I sit the tests in?
Siemens, in SCL or ladder, as in TIA Portal, and Rockwell, in Structured Text or ladder, as in Studio 5000. Some jobs need that maker's function block diagram or sequence editor.
Next to certify: Trainee
A 10 minute practical test. Pass it, and Trainee is Certified.
Sign up to sit the Trainee test