Background
The Apprentices Act, 1961 was introduced to create a uniform framework for apprenticeship training across industries in India. Its main purpose is to regulate the training of apprentices, promote skill development, and ensure the availability of technically qualified manpower. The Act defines the roles and responsibilities of employers and apprentices, prescribes the period and type of training, and provides for supervision by Apprenticeship Advisors. It helps bridge the gap between theoretical education and practical industry needs, thereby enhancing employability of youth.
Applicability
Compliance requirement under the Act:
Number of Apprentices to be engaged in the organization –
An organization is required to disclose its intention to engage apprentices both in designated and optional trade
A person can be engaged as an apprentice only if:
a) he is 14 years of age for any designated trade
b) he is 18 years of age for designated trades related to hazardous industries
c) satisfies prescribed standards of education and physical fitness
4. Standard of education for being engaged as an apprentice (Section 3(b), Rule 3)
Trade apprentice can be engaged if he has the minimum educational qualifications as specified in Schedule-1 to Apprenticeship Rules 1992
A person shall be eligible for being engaged as an apprentice if he satisfies the minimum standards of physical fitness specified in Schedule-II subject to exemption for certain cases as provided in Rule 4 of Apprenticeship Rules 1992
In all designated trades, training places to be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC)/Scheduled Tribes(ST) & where there is more than one designated trade in an establishment, training places shall be reserved also on basis of total number of apprentices in all designated trades in an establishment.
No person shall be engaged to undergo apprenticeship training in a designated trade unless such person or, if he is a minor, his guardian has entered into contract of apprenticeship with employer.
Contract of apprenticeship shall be as per Format-1 as specified in Schedule III
Period of apprenticeship training will be such as prescribed in Section 6 and Rule 7 of Apprenticeship Act 1961 and Apprenticeship Rules 1992
All regulations pertaining to engagement of apprentice in any Optional Trade are prescribed in Rule 7A of Apprenticeship Rules 1992
Where the contract of apprenticeship is terminated through failure on the part of any employer in carrying out the terms and conditions thereof, such employer shall be liable to pay the apprentice compensation of an amount equivalent to his three months last drawn stipend
One-Time Window for Submission of Backdated Termination Request for Apprenticeship Contract – Establishments seeking retrospective termination of apprenticeship contracts shall submit requests through Zoho Ticketing Support under the subject “Backdated Termination Request” during the one-time submission window from 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2026. Requests shall be submitted only in the prescribed format and after obtaining prior approval from the concerned Advisor. Contracts completed on or before 1 May 2026 are not eligible. Requests may be submitted only for contracts that were active as on 15 May 2026. Requests not submitted in the prescribed format will be rejected, no revised submissions or fresh tickets will be entertained, and no extension of the submission window will be granted.
The Central Government shall prescribe the number of apprentices to be engaged by the employer for designated trade and optional trade.
Every employer shall make suitable arrangements in his workplace for imparting a course of practical training to every apprentice engaged by him.
Where an employer employs in his establishment five hundred or more workers, the basic training shall be imparted to the trade apprentices either in separate parts of the workshop building or in a separate building which shall be set up by the employer himself, but the appropriate Government may grant loans to the employer on easy terms and repayable by easy instalments to meet the cost of the land, construction and equipment for such separate building.
In the case of an apprentice other than a graduate or technician apprentice technician (vocational) apprentice, the syllabus of and the equipment to be utilised for, practical training including basic training in any designated trade shall be such as may be approved by the Central Government in consultation with the Central Apprenticeship Council.
A person placed in charge of the training of apprentices by the employer shall possess the qualifications specified in Schedule IV to Apprenticeship Rules 1992
Staffing pattern and qualifications of instructional staff for imparting practical and basic training to apprentices shall be as specified in Schedule IV A
The minimum rate of stipend payable to apprentices per month shall be as per the qualifications stipulated in the curriculum and as prescribed in Rule 11 of Apprenticeship Rules 1992 as amended by Apprenticeship (Amendment) Rules, 2019 read with Section 13
Recurring costs (including the cost of stipends) incurred by an employer in connection with [basic training] imparted to trade apprentices other than those referred to in clauses (a) and (aa)] of section 6 shall be borne—
(i) if such employer employs two hundred and fifty workers or more, by the employer;
(ii) if such employer employs less than two hundred and fifty workers, by the employer and the Government in equal shares up to such limit as may be laid down by the Central Government and beyond that limit, by the employer alone; and
(b) recurring costs (including the cost of stipends), if any, incurred by an employer in connection with practical training including basic training, imparted to trade apprentices referred to in clauses (a) and (aa) of section 6 shall, in every case, be borne by the employer;
(c) recurring costs (excluding the cost of stipends) incurred by an employer in connection with the practical training imparted to graduate or technician apprentices [technician (vocational) apprentices shall be borne by the employer and the cost of stipends shall be borne by the Central Government and the employer in equal shares up to such limit as may be laid down by the Central Government and beyond that limit by the employer alone [except apprentices who holds degree or diploma in non-engineering.
A trade apprentice who is undergoing practical training in an establishment shall, during the period of practical training, be given a course of related instruction (which shall be appropriate to the trade) approved by the Central Government in consultation with the Central Apprenticeship Council
Total number of hours per week shall be 42 to 48 (including the time spent on Related Instruction)
An establishment can engage apprentices of age 18 and above in normal working hours of establishment. Apprentices under the age of 18 shall be engaged in such training between hours of 8.00 am and 6.00 pm. Any relaxation in the same shall be approved by Apprenticeship Adviser, on case to case basis.
No apprentice shall be required or allowed to work overtime except with the approval of Apprenticeship Adviser who shall not grant such approval unless he is satisfied that such overtime is in the interest of the training of the apprentice or in the public interest.
An apprentice shall be entitled to such leave and holidays as are observed in the establishment in which he is undergoing training.
If personal injury is caused to an apprentice by accident arising out of and in course of his training as apprentice, his employer shall be liable to pay compensation which shall be determined and paid as per Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule.
Work diary in Format – 2 as specified in Schedule III of Apprenticeship Rules 1992 shall be maintained by each Trade apprentice and Optional trade apprentice and countersigned by his supervisor once in a week
Every employer shall maintain a register of attendance of the apprentices undergoing apprenticeship training in his establishment and action taken for irregular and unauthorised absence shall be recorded in the said register at the end of each month.
Employer shall maintain a record of work done and training undertaken by graduate, technician and technician (vocational) apprentices for each quarter and at end of each quarter shall send a report in Form Apprenticeship specified in Sch-III to Director, Regional Board of Apprenticeship Training.
Every employer shall formulate its own policy for recruiting any apprentice who has completed the period of apprenticeship training in his establishment.
In all trades and subjects, training places must be reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and if such reserved places remain unfilled, they may be allotted to candidates meeting the fitness norms specified in Schedule II. For every trade or subject field, the suitability of that trade or field for persons with benchmark disabilities must be specified, training places must be reserved accordingly, and the appropriate Government is required to issue orders identifying the categories of benchmark disability applicable to each trade or subject field.
A minimum gap of one year is required between two successive apprenticeships, save that no gap is required where the prior training ended due to the employer’s fault (under Section 11 read with Rule 6(2)). Where the earlier apprenticeship ended for reasons of health, financial hardship, relocation, transport difficulties, a career change, or a language barrier, a three-month waiting period applies before a fresh apprenticeship may commence, though this waiting period is waived for women. A person may undergo a maximum of two apprenticeship trainings, with the second required to be in a different trade. The cost of stipend for a first-time apprenticeship is borne by the Central Government, and where a contract of apprenticeship is terminated on account of the apprentice’s failure to carry out its terms, that apprentice is not entitled to enter into a further contract of apprenticeship under the Act with any other employer.
Punishment and Penalties
The following penalty provisions apply across the compliance obligations covered in this blog. These have been consolidated and de-duplicated for ease of reference:
Sections 30 and 31 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 — Penalty for Contravention
For a first contravention of the Act, the Rules, or an order made thereunder, the employer is required to comply with an advisory issued to it, to be complied with within thirty days. For a second contravention, the employer is liable to a warning, to be complied with within fifteen days. For every subsequent contravention, the employer is liable to a penalty of not less than one thousand rupees, which may extend to five thousand rupees.
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