Army Soldier Tradesman Eligibility And Selection Process – All Trades

A unit in the army is self-dependent, it does not need help from other units for any task. It is like a society that is self-sustaining and is totally efficient in carrying out any task on its own. Each unit has its own equipment, vehicles, gardens, etc. And there are almost 1200 people in each unit. To maintain everything, a unit needs special people, and that is where tradesman comes into play.

Tradesmen are one of the most important parts of the army, they ensure the smooth and proper functioning of a unit. And each year they recruit a number of people for different trades.

Following are the trades that one can apply for: chef, hairdresser, store hand,  animal store holders, Ferrier, pioneers, postal, steward, artisan (wood), artisan (painter), artisan (tailor), artisan (metallurgy), artisan (musician), equipment repairer, kennel man, washerman, mess keeper, the housekeeper.

You will get complete information about all the details that one needs to know before applying for the soldier tradesman. From the eligibility criteria of tradesmen to the selection process, this article will give you every single detail.

See also: Army best books.

Soldier Tradesman Eligibility Criteria

To get recruited as a soldier tradesman, a candidate has to satisfy certain requirements that are necessary. Below are the important eligibility criteria, read them all, and then check if you match all the requirements. And if there is any eligibility that you do not fulfill, then you should know that you will not be able to apply. And if somehow you do, then you will be disqualified on the day of the rally.

Educational Qualifications

The educational criteria for soldier tradesmen are simple. A candidate who is applying for tradesman should be at least 10th pass (except for mess keeper and housekeeper) or must have done ITI from a recognized college or institute.

Candidates who are applying for housekeeper or mess keeper can be just an 8th simple pass from a recognized education board.

Age Limit

The applicant must not be less than 17½ years old and neither more than 23 years old.

Minimum age = 17½ years
Maximum age = 23 years

Note:- The age of the candidate will be calculated from the birth date (as per documents) till the day of Bharti.

Physical eligibility (height, weight, chest)

A candidate must satisfy the following physical standards in order to get eligible to participate in the rally or Bharti :

States	Height (in cm)	Weight (in Kg)	Chest (in cm)
Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab Hills, Uttarakhand	166	48	77
Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam, and Hill Region of West Bengal (Gangtok, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong Districts)	160	48	77
Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Western Uttar Pradesh (Meerut and Agra Division)	170	50	77
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa	169	50	77
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadar, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Diu	168	50	77
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, and Puducherry	166	50	77

It is very important to fulfill the above-given standards of height, weight, and chest for any candidate to be eligible to apply for soldier tradesman. The following concessions will be given to candidates having a special certificate.

Certificate	Height (in cm)	Weight (in Kg)	Chest (in cm)
Sports certificate	2	5	3
Relation certificate	2	2	1
applicants from poor areas	none	2	none

To be able to avail of the concession, the candidate must produce the original and valid documents or certificate. If a candidate fails to show the appropriate documents, then he will not be given the benefits.

Medical eligibility for soldier tradesman

To ensure that a candidate is medically fit, the army has set up some medical standards that everyone has to fulfill before getting recruited. Following are the main posts of medical standards.

1. Good physical and mental health with a robust physique. Not only a candidate should be fit externally, but he should also be in a healthy state of mind.
2. He should have at least 14 dental points.
3. He should have a 6/6, and binocular vision in both eyes.
4. The applicant should be free from any diseases.
5. He should have a normal hearing range in both ears.

Note: If you went or want to go under operation, then it should be at least 6 months old. Also, the operation should not cause any problem to you otherwise you will be disqualified in the medical round. Make sure you carry the original operation report with you to be on the safer side.

So these are the eligibility criteria that one needs to fulfill to get recruited. If you lack any of the given criteria, then I am sorry to say that you are not fit to apply for soldier tradesman. And if you do satisfy all the criteria, then you should definitely know the selection procedure involved in recruiting a soldier tradesman.

Soldier Tradesman Selection Procedure

The soldier tradesman process is a bit complicated as compared to other trades because it involves an extra aptitude test (for some trades). But all the other stages are the same as other trades. Following is the process :

Preparing Documents

This goes without saying that you need to have all your documents right and ready, even if there is no recruitment for some time. You can apply for any government job if you have your documents all set.

So, do not wait for the right time to come, and be ready with your documents. In a rally, many of the candidates are rejected for not having proper documents. Imagine you practiced so hard for the Bharti, and when it’s time to put that hard work to some use, you get kicked off just because of not having some piece of the paper right.

This will be very heartbreaking, so save yourself from some regret and start preparing your documents right now. Following are the documents that you will need on the Bharti ground.

1. Class 10th passing certificate and mark sheet. For candidates applying on 8th base, mark sheet of 8th class with stamp and signature of principal of the school.
2. Domicile or Residence Certificate with photograph issued by the authorized signatory of the State Government / Tehsildar / SDM.
3. Caste Certificate with a photograph.
4. Religion Certificate
5. Character certificate issued by the school principal.
6. Character certificate (not less than 6 months old) with photograph issued by village sarpanch, municipal corporation, or police.
7. Aadhar card and 20 recent passport size colored photos.

Candidates should carry original and at least 2 photocopies of the above-mentioned documents. Also, if any candidate has certificates like NCC, relation, etc. then he should bring them too (original).

Now you have the list of documents that are important to apply for soldier tradesman. So, you can get started with document preparation.

Online Registration

Gone are the days when you just needed to reach the Bharti ground to participate in the rally. Army has introduced the online registration process before participating in the rally. Now, a candidate will have to first register himself online through the army official website before participating in the Bharti.

See also: Army online registration process.

Visit www.joinindianarmy.nic.in to register yourself online. Before you start applying, make sure that you apply through a good internet speed. Also, keep your documents with you, and do not make any mistake while filling the form. Once the form is submitted, then the users will not be able to change any information, so cross-check your form at least 2 to 3 times.

See “Army online application” for more details about the online application process.

Physical Fitness Test (PFT)

This is where the real deal starts, the very first phase of rally or Bharti. In the physical fitness test, your physical abilities will be checked. There will be multiple rounds of the physical test which a candidate will have to pass to get to the next phase. Following is a step by step procedure of soldier tradesman Bharti :

Initial stages

Please note that candidates will have to carry the indemnity bond with them, else they will not be allowed to participate in the rally.

An indemnity bond is an assurance by you to the army that, if anything happens to you during the rally, it will not be the responsibility of the army, and you will not ask for any compensation.

In the initial stages of the Bharti, first, the documents of the participants are checked, if there is any fault in the documents of any candidate then he is not allowed to proceed and is disqualified right at the start. So, it is very important to keep the documents (along with the admit card) properly ready.

The next round of initial stage is height and weight measurement. In this round, the height of each and every candidate is measured, and if someone is heightening or does not have the right weight, then he is disqualified from the rally. So, it will be useless to participate in the rally for someone who does not satisfy the physical eligibility.

Running test for endurance

Running a test is the hardest of all tests because, in this test, a candidate has to run 1600 meters (1.6 km) in a group, which makes it extremely difficult to run because of the congested space. And to add the pressure, even more, you are given the time constraints, which will just make it even harder.

One can not get through the racing part of the rally without hard practice. If it is not too late for you, then you should start practicing for the race right from today. See our article “How to prepare for the army” to get the complete guideline on how you should start preparing for the Army Bharti.

These are the details about the race  :

Up to 5 mins 40 secs – 60 Marks (Group I)

From 5 mins 41 secs to 6 mins 20 sec – 48 Marks (Group II)

More than 6 min 20 sec – fail (disqualified)

Please note that from 1 April 2017, the rules of 1.6 km racing will be changed.

Pull up a test for strength

Right after finishing the race, qualified participants will go for pull up on beam (under grip). Doing pull-ups right after running, is quite difficult. So, don’t even think for a second that you can do pull-ups without practice. If you are not in practice, then believe me! doing even 3 pulls will feel like climbing mountains. And 3 pull-ups will surely not get you through.

Here are the details of pull-ups :

6 pull-ups = 16 marks

7 pull-ups = 21 marks

8 pull-ups = 27 marks

9 pull-ups = 33 marks

10 pull-ups = 40 marks

To get your name on the merit list, it’s important to score as many marks as possible in PFT. So, try to get that excellent by doing 10 pull-ups.

Chest measurement:- After the pull round, the chest of candidates is measured. The chest of a candidate should be well developed and at least a 5 cm increase in the chest should be there after expansion.

9 Feet ditch for courage

Once, the candidates pass the chest measurement round, then they will have to cross a 9 feet long ditch. This test is done to test the courage of a candidate. There are no marks given for this test, you just have to qualify for this round. Normally very few fail in this test, but just to be on the safer side, practice long jumps to get through this round smoothly.

Zig-zag balance for agility

This round will test the agility of candidates. In this round, you will be made to walk on narrow zig-zag stands or ropes. candidates will need to clear this without falling. And by the way, if you are wondering what agility means, it’s the ability to do difficult things swiftly with complete focus.

Again, no marks are awarded for this round, you just need to qualify for this round.

Aptitude test

This is an extra test that is organized only for the tradesman category. Since, a candidate will be selected for a particular trade, therefore, to make sure that a candidate does know about the applied trade, this test is conducted.

Make sure that you are fully prepared for this test and do your best because out of the total marks that you will score in this test, 40% will be added to the final merit list. i.e 40% marks of this test will add to the final merit list. So, this test is very crucial, and you need to be prepared for it.

Medical test

Running and medical tests are the two rounds where most of the candidates are disqualified. Even the slightest problem in your mental and physical health can become the cause of disqualification. So, to be sure, each and every applicant should make sure that they are medically fit to participate in the rally.

Consult the expert doctor and take routine checkups to make sure everything is OK.

Common Entrance Exam (CEE)

The written exam is the final hurdle of recruitment. Out of the total marks that you will score in the written exam, 30% will be added to the final merit list. The written exam will carry a total of 100 marks and 50 questions will be asked. The paper will be divided into 3 subjects, general knowledge, general science, and maths.

Gk will carry the highest number of questions i.e 20 questions, whereas general science and maths will carry 15 questions each. Each question will be of 2 marks. 1 hour of time will be given to finish the exam, and a candidate will need to score at least 32 marks to be declared as a pass. For more details please see “soldier tradesman syllabus and paper pattern”.

See also: Soldier Tradesman Sample Papers And Previous Year Papers

Note: passing the written exam does not mean that your name will be there on the merit list. It just means that you are qualified for the merit list round.

Making of merit list

If your name is there in the merit list, it means that you have successfully cleared all the tests, and are now recruited as a tradesman. The details of the merit list are as follows :

30% PFT + 30% CEE + 40% aptitude = merit list

suppose you get 70 marks in PFT (physical fitness test), then 30% of 70 marks will be 21. So, this means that in your final merit list 21 marks will be added. Likewise, if you get 70 in CEE (common entrance exam) then 21 marks will be added. And, if you get 70 marks in aptitude, then 40% of 70 will be 28, and 28 marks will be added to the final merit list.

So, in the final merit list, your marks will be 78 out of 100.

Note: merit list is never fixed, suppose all the candidates in your group have scored above 80 in the merit list, then it will be set accordingly, and if you have got 78, then your name will not be on the merit list.

So, this is how the final merit list is made.

Dispatch for training

Now when you are selected for the job, then you will get a call letter in which there will be all the details about training. A candidate has to go under 9 months of hard training. The starting 6 months will be regular training like other trades, then a 30 days break is given. After the break, the remaining 3 months of training is carried on in which candidates will be trained for their particular trades.

Note: you will not be considered as full-fledged army personnel until you complete your training.

So, this is the whole soldier tradesman selection procedure. I hope, this article cleared your doubts. But, if you still have any, then feel free to ask via comments.

All the best!