Graduates Aged 20 to 28 Can Apply for 3,500 Paid Canara Bank Apprenticeships From October 1

Canara Bank has opened 3,500 training seats for graduate apprentices in 2026-27, and online applications run from October 1 to October 17, 2026. The seats are open to graduates in any discipline aged 20 to 28 who finished their degree between January 2023 and September 2026, and each apprentice is paid a monthly stipend of Rs 16,650 for 12 months of on-the-job training in the bank's branches. For Metaintro readers, the useful detail sits inside the bank's own notice rather than in the headline number, because it sets out who is ranked first, what the stipend is made of and what an apprentice gives up by signing. Here is what the notice covers and how to apply.

How Many Seats Are There, and Where Are They?

The headline figure is 3,500 training seats, spread across states and union territories in a state-wise table. The figure is provisional, and the number of training seats may vary according to the actual requirement of the bank.

The seats are not spread evenly. Karnataka, where the bank has its head office in Bengaluru, has the largest share with 581 seats. The state-wise table in the notice gives Uttar Pradesh 409, Tamil Nadu 391, Andhra Pradesh 247 and Kerala 240 seats. Maharashtra has 205 seats and West Bengal has 150.

At the other end of the table, some territories have a single seat. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Ladakh each carry one training seat, and Mizoram has two.

The seats are also split by reservation category. Across the country, the notice lists 1,541 unreserved seats, 845 for Other Backward Classes, 553 for Scheduled Castes, 335 for the Economically Weaker Section and 226 for Scheduled Tribes. Seats for persons with benchmark disabilities are horizontal and within the overall vacancies for each state rather than a separate block.

Who Can Apply for a Canara Bank Apprenticeship?

Three tests decide eligibility, and all of them are measured on September 1, 2026.

• Age. Applicants must be between 20 and 28 years old, which the notice defines as born between September 2, 1998 and September 1, 2006.
• Degree. Applicants need a graduation degree in any discipline from a university recognised by the Government of India, passed between January 1, 2023 and September 1, 2026.
• Fresh start. Anyone who has already done an apprenticeship under the Apprentices Act, with this bank or elsewhere, is not eligible.

The upper age limit is relaxed for some groups. The notice gives five extra years for SC and ST candidates, three for OBC candidates in the non-creamy layer and ten for persons with benchmark disabilities. Widows, divorced women and women legally separated from their husbands who have not remarried can apply up to 35 for General and EWS candidates, 38 for OBC and 40 for SC and ST.

One rule catches people who have already started working. Candidates who have had training or job experience of one or more years after finishing their qualification are not eligible. The clause covers training as well as job experience, so a graduate who has trained or worked for a year or more since finishing a degree is not eligible.

Why Do Your Class 12 Marks Matter More Than Your Degree?

The bank ranks candidates state by state on the marks obtained in Class 12 or a diploma, not on degree results. The selection process in the notice does not mention a written exam or an interview as part of the ranking.

There is a floor. The notice sets the minimum at 60 percent in Class 12 or diploma, and 55 percent for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. The rounding is strict, with 59.99 percent treated as less than 60.

Ties are broken by age. Where candidates have the same percentage, they are ranked by age in descending order, which puts the older candidate ahead. If your marks use a CGPA or OGPA, you must convert it to a percentage and bring a certificate from the appropriate authority setting out the board or university's conversion norms and your resulting percentage.

Accuracy matters here. The merit list is prepared only from what you enter in the online form, and any discrepancy found at document verification disqualifies the application summarily. On the national portal, the FAQ tells students to enter either a percentage or a CGPA, not both, and says they need not type the percent symbol.

The merit list of those candidates who have applied will be prepared State wise in descending order on the basis of marks/percentage obtained in 12th Std (HSC/10+2)/ Diploma Examination, according to the bank's official notice.

What Happens After the Merit List?

Shortlisted applicants go through a local language test, document verification and a medical fitness examination before they are engaged.

The language test is tied to the state you pick. Each state in the table carries a named local language, for example Kannada in Karnataka and Tamil in Tamil Nadu. Candidates who can show a Class 10 or Class 12 mark sheet proving they studied that language skip the test, while everyone else sits it when called for document verification. Failing it means the candidate will not be engaged.

You also get only one state. Candidates can opt for seats in only one state and rank the districts within it, though allotment is need based and the bank can place you in any district of that state. Pick a state where you can pass the language test and live for a year.

The final step happens on the national portal. Selected candidates receive a digital apprenticeship contract through the portal and must accept it within the set timeline. The portal's own FAQ is blunt about what happens if you miss it, since a contract not accepted in time is marked auto-rejected and cannot be accepted again.

What Does the Apprenticeship Pay?

The stipend is Rs 16,650 a month, including any subsidy from the Government of India. It is paid in two parts. The bank puts Rs 10,500 into the apprentice's account each month, and the government's share of Rs 6,150 is credited directly by direct benefit transfer.

That is a rise on last year. The bank's notice for 2025-26 offered the same 3,500 seats at a stipend of Rs 15,000, made up of the same Rs 10,500 from the bank and a government share of Rs 4,500. Set against the 2026-27 split of Rs 10,500 and Rs 6,150, the whole increase comes from the government's share, while the bank's own payment is unchanged.

Read the rest of the pay terms too. Apprentices are not eligible for any other allowances or benefits, and the stipend is paid each month after adjusting for any loss of pay. Labour provisions such as PF, ESI and bonus do not apply to the engagement.

Canara Bank will make a payment of 10,500/- into the apprentices account on a monthly basis, according to the 2026-27 notice.

What Is Daily Life Like as a Canara Bank Apprentice?

Training runs for 12 months, delivered on the job at select branches in line with the course curriculum. Apprentices work the hours of the bank's clerical cadre, and overtime is allowed only with the approval of the Apprenticeship Adviser.

Leave is limited. Apprentices earn one casual leave after each month of training, up to 12 in a year, and can take no more than four at a time. No other type of leave applies, although apprentices get the holidays the branch observes.

There are conduct rules as well. Apprentices are prohibited from joining or forming a union, and the bank can end a contract after seven days' notice for misbehaviour, disobedience or unsatisfactory performance. A candidate who does not report to the branch on the start date has the contract terminated.

At the end, apprentices receive a joint certificate through the national scheme, and they are then relieved from their training area.

Does the Apprenticeship Lead to a Permanent Bank Job?

Not automatically, and the notice is direct about it. Apprentices will not be treated as employees of the bank and are not entitled to the benefits the bank's employees receive. The bank also has no obligation to offer regular employment during or after the training.

That does not make the year worthless. What you take away is a year inside a large public sector bank with over 10,000 branches, branch experience to put on a resume and a certificate from the national apprenticeship scheme. The notice itself does not claim any hiring advantage, so treat the year as paid training and keep applying to regular jobs while you do it. If you have no work history yet, the branch year gives you something concrete to list when you start making a resume for your first job.

How Did Last Year's Round Go?

The bank ran the same exercise last year. Its 2025-26 notice offered 3,500 seats with applications open from September 23 to October 12, 2025, for graduates who passed between January 2022 and September 2025.

The bank's page for that round shows how selection played out. Alongside the first-opportunity and final-opportunity lists, it posted several lists of candidates provisionally selected from the wait list, and several lists of candidates whose candidature was cancelled.

That matters for this year's applicants. Under the 2026-27 notice, a wait list is kept state and category wise for one year from the result or until the next engagement exercise, whichever is earlier. If your name is not on the first list, keep checking the bank's page.

How Do You Apply, Step by Step?

The order matters, because only candidates with a complete profile on the national portal are eligible to apply to the bank.

• Register on the national portal. Create an account on the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme portal and complete your profile to 100 percent. Registration generates an enrolment number, which you need for the bank's form.
• Get your documents ready. The bank asks for a scanned photograph, signature, left thumb impression and a handwritten declaration in English that is not written in capital letters. Your name must match your Class 10 marks card.
• Apply on the bank's site. The notice points candidates to the Careers and Recruitment section of the bank's website, where the 2026-27 engagement page carries a Click here to Apply Online link. Applications are accepted from October 1 to October 17, 2026.
• Pay the fee. It is Rs 500 for all candidates outside the SC, ST and PwBD groups, including intimation charges, and nil for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. The fee is non-refundable.
• Submit once. A candidate should submit only one application, and if there are several, only the latest valid completed one is retained. No change is permitted after final submission.

The application deadline is also carried in the Career Power summary of the notice, which lists NATS registration as mandatory before the bank's form. Treat the bank's own notice as the final word wherever a summary differs.

Before you sign the digital contract, it is worth reading up on the workplace rights every fresher should know, then comparing them with the apprentice terms above.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

For a recent graduate who wants to work in banking, this is a paid first step, but it is a training year, not a job offer. The bank is clear that apprentices are not employees and that it has no duty to hire them afterwards.

The ranking rule is the one to check first. Because the merit list runs on Class 12 or diploma marks, a strong degree cannot make up for weak school marks, and any candidate outside the SC, ST and PwBD groups who scored below 60 percent, or an SC, ST or PwBD candidate below 55 percent, is out before the list is drawn. Check your Class 12 percentage against those floors.

Here is what we would do:

• Check the one-year experience rule. If you have worked for a year or more since graduating, you are not eligible, so do not pay the fee.
• Pick your state with care. You get one state only, and the language test decides whether you can take the seat.
• Register on the portal early. The bank requires a 100 percent complete profile on the national portal before you can apply, so do not leave it to October 17.
• Watch for the contract. A contract left unaccepted is auto-rejected, and it cannot be revived.
• Keep applying elsewhere. Use the year to build branch experience and keep a regular job search running, because the bank has no obligation to offer regular employment.

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People Also Asked

Q: What is the last date to apply for the Canara Bank apprenticeship?

A: Online applications run from October 1 to October 17, 2026, and you must register on the national apprenticeship portal with a complete profile before applying.

Q: How much stipend does a Canara Bank apprentice get?

A: The stipend is Rs 16,650 a month, with Rs 10,500 paid by the bank and a government share of Rs 6,150 credited by direct benefit transfer.

Q: Is there an exam for the Canara Bank apprenticeship?

A: The notice ranks candidates on Class 12 or diploma marks and does not mention a written exam, but shortlisted candidates face a local language test unless their school mark sheet shows they studied that language.

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