NICL Apprentice Recruitment 2026: 200 Graduate Apprentice Seats, Apply by 18 November

NICL apprentice recruitment 2026 opened on 4 November 2026, with National Insurance Company Limited offering 200 Graduate Apprentice seats across 14 states under the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme for 2026-27. The company said online applications run from 4 November 2026 to 18 November 2026 through the NATS portal, and selected apprentices will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 during a 12-month training period.

Read the exclusions before anything else, because they remove a large group of graduates from this drive. The notification excludes candidates who hold a postgraduate degree or have completed an integrated postgraduate course, candidates who have previously undergone apprenticeship training or are undergoing it, candidates whose earlier apprenticeship was terminated midway, and candidates with one year or more of work experience in a government, public-sector, or private organisation as on 1 April 2026. Only regular, full-time graduation in any discipline counts, distance-learning and part-time degrees are not covered by the notification, and each candidate may apply for only one state.

At a glance	Details
Organisation	National Insurance Company Limited (NICL)
Scheme	National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), 2026-27
Post	Graduate Apprentice
Total seats	200 (provisional)
States covered	14
Notification date	4 November 2026
Application window	4 November 2026 to 18 November 2026
Monthly stipend	Rs. 15,000 (Rs. 8,850 from NICL plus Rs. 6,150 from the government through direct benefit transfer)
Training duration	12 months
Qualification	Regular, full-time graduation in any discipline, degree certificate held by 1 April 2026
Age limit	21 to 30 years as on 1 April 2026, with relaxation for eligible reserved categories
Selection	Graduation marks-based shortlisting, then physical document verification; no written examination or interview prescribed
Application fee	Not specified in the notification
NATS establishment ID	EWBPNC096867
Apply via	NATS portal, nats.education.gov.in

NICL apprentice recruitment 2026: state-wise seats

Assam carries the largest allocation, with 30 seats, followed by Gujarat with 22 seats. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have 20 seats each, Uttar Pradesh has 14, and Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have 12 each. Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu have 10 seats each. Those figures add up to the advertised total of 200, and the notification says the total is provisional and may increase or decrease according to the company's requirements.

The one-state rule shapes how applicants should choose. Candidates apply for engagement in one state only, and the company reserves the right to allot a selected candidate to any district within the chosen state based on administrative requirements. Applicants should therefore pick a state where they can attend verification in person and complete 12 months of training.

Who can apply for the NICL Graduate Apprentice seats

Applicants must have completed a regular, full-time graduation degree in any discipline from a university or institution recognised by AICTE, DOTE, or UGC, and must have passed the qualifying examination and held the degree certificate by 1 April 2026. Applicants must also hold a 100 percent complete NATS profile. Applications without the graduation percentage entered in the prescribed NATS profile field will not be considered.

The age limit is 21 to 30 years as on 1 April 2026, with upper-age relaxation for eligible reserved categories: 5 years for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, 3 years for Other Backward Classes (non-creamy layer), and 10, 13, and 15 years for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the general and Economically Weaker Section, Other Backward Classes, and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories respectively. The notified date-of-birth range for general and Economically Weaker Section candidates runs from 1 April 1996 to 1 April 2005, both dates inclusive, subject to the notification's conditions and valid supporting certificates.

Stipend, training terms, and what this is not

Selected apprentices will receive a fixed monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 during the 12-month apprenticeship period, made up of Rs. 8,850 from NICL and Rs. 6,150 from the government through direct benefit transfer into the apprentice's bank account. The notification says the stipend is not a permanent employee salary, and apprentices are not entitled to other NICL employee allowances or benefits. Apprentices earn one day of leave per month of training, subject to prior approval, with a maximum of four days at one time.

The training point matters most for expectations. NICL said it has no obligation to offer regular employment during or after the apprenticeship, the contract ends after 12 months, and apprentices cannot claim permanent absorption on the basis of completing the programme. Training takes place at the allotted NICL office within the selected state, and an apprenticeship contract in NATS is mandatory. Applicants who need a permanent post should read this drive as a paid training year in a public-sector insurer, not as a route into a permanent NICL job.

How selection works for NICL apprentices

Selection is based on the percentage of marks obtained in the qualifying graduation examination, calculated up to two decimal places, followed by physical document verification. Shortlisted candidates receive instructions through their registered email address, and then appear in person at the designated NICL office with original certificates and self-attested copies. CGPA, OGPA, or GPA scores must be converted using the university's official formula. If two or more candidates obtain the same graduation percentage, the older candidate receives preference in the merit list.

No written examination or interview is mentioned in the notification, and the shortlisting date, document verification date, and apprenticeship commencement date have not been announced. Document verification arrangements will be communicated by registered email, so applicants must keep their email accounts active throughout the engagement process. Final engagement depends on eligibility verification, seat availability, and NATS contract approval.

How to apply for the NICL Graduate Apprentice seats

Applications are online only through the NATS portal. Applicants should register and complete their NATS student profile to 100 percent, then apply specifically against the National Insurance Company Limited apprenticeship opportunity using establishment ID EWBPNC096867. Creating a NATS student account alone is not sufficient. The notification does not specify an application or examination fee, so applicants should complete the application through the official NATS portal and follow only the instructions displayed there.

Applicants should apply only through the NATS portal and should not make payments to unverified recruitment agents or intermediaries. NICL does not charge through agents for this engagement, and any message offering a guaranteed seat for payment should be treated as a fraud attempt. Apply well before 18 November 2026 so a profile problem can still be fixed.

Other apprentice and bank coverage may help applicants compare options. Indian Bank apprentice recruitment for 1,500 posts is a larger training engagement, while HCL trade apprentice recruitment at Malanjkhand offers 171 trade seats. Readers may also want Bank of Baroda WMS recruitment for 837 posts, a fixed-term recruitment for experienced professionals rather than a fresher apprenticeship.

Sources: National Insurance Company Limited notification dated 4 November 2026 for engagement of 200 Graduate Apprentices under NATS for 2026-27, as summarised by FreeJobAlert at https://www.freejobalert.com/articles/nicl-graduate-apprentices-recruitment-2026-3078567 and corroborated by Karmasandhan at https://www.karmasandhan.com/nicl-apprentice-recruitment/; applications through the NATS portal at https://nats.education.gov.in. The notification states the seats, window, stipend, exclusions, and selection method quoted here; an application fee is not specified in the notification.