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.
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.
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 |
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 |
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 :
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.
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 vThe 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.ery important to keep the documents (along with the admit card) properly ready.
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 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.
There 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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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
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.
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!