Southern Railway has announced a total of 4471 vacancies for Act Apprentices. This includes 163 vacancies for the Fresher Category and 4308 vacancies for the Ex-ITI Category across various trades and units.

For Fitter, Painter & Welder trades, candidates must have passed 10th Class with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks under the 10+2 System. For Medical Laboratory Technician (Radiology, Pathology, Cardiology) trades, candidates must have passed 12th Class with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks under the 10+2 system with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The minimum 50% marks criteria is not applicable for SC/ST/PwBD candidates.

Candidates must have passed 10th Class (with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks, not applicable for SC/ST/PwBD) under the 10+2 System or its equivalent, AND passed an ITI Course in the relevant trade from a Government recognized ITI, possessing a certificate issued by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT) in the respective trade. Specific trades like Electrician and Electronics Mechanic have additional subject requirements in 10th class.

The processing fee is Rs. 100/-, which is non-refundable. However, SC/ST, Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD), and Women candidates are exempted from paying the application fee.

The selection will be based on a merit list prepared from the academic marks of eligible candidates. For the Fresher Category, 10th class marks (converted to 200) will be used. For the Ex-ITI Category, 10th class marks (converted to 100) and ITI marks (converted to 100) will be given equal weightage for a total of 200 marks. For MLT, 12th class marks (Physics, Chemistry, Maths & Biology) will be converted to 200 marks. There will be no written examination or interview.

The monthly stipend rates are: Rs. 8200/- for Fresher’s - X std, and Rs. 9600/- for Fresher’s - 12th std and Ex-ITI candidates. The stipend will increase by 10% in the second year and 15% in the third year of the apprenticeship training.

As of the notification date, candidates should have completed 15 years of age. For Freshers, the upper age limit is 22 years, and for Ex-ITI and MLT candidates, it is 24 years. Age relaxation is provided for OBC-NCL (3 years), SC/ST (5 years), and PwBD (10 years). PwBD candidates belonging to OBC or SC/ST categories receive cumulative relaxation.

No, there is no guarantee of employment. The engagement is purely for apprenticeship training under the Apprentices Act, 1961, and the contract of apprenticeship will be terminated upon completion of training. However, 20% of vacancies in direct recruitment to Level 1 posts through RRCs may give preference to Course Completed Act Apprentices (CCAAs) trained in railway establishments and possessing a National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC).

Only candidates residing in the whole state of Tamil Nadu, the whole Union Territory of Puducherry, the whole state of Kerala, the whole Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands, ONLY the two districts of Andhra Pradesh (SPSR Nellore and Chittoor), and ONLY one district of Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada) are eligible to apply.