BHEL Artisan Recruitment 2026: 660 Grade IV Posts in 9 Units, Apply 21 Oct to 18 Nov

BHEL is hiring 660 Artisan Grade IV for nine manufacturing units. The detailed advertisement, Advt. 01/2026 (BHEL calls the drive "Artisan Recruitment 2027"), is on careers.bhel.in. Applications run 21 October to 18 November 2026. The computer test is tentatively on 11 December 2026.

This is a regular PSU job for ITI holders, not an apprenticeship. You work one year as a temporary artisan at Rs 24,000 a month, then move to the regular scale of Rs 29,500 to 65,000 with allowances.

The catch most people miss: you can apply to one unit and one trade, and you must stay in that unit for 20 years. Pick the city before you pick the trade.

Vacancies by unit and trade

Fitter (278) is the big trade. HPBP Tiruchirappalli (150) and HPVP Visakhapatnam (120) are the big units. Electronics Mechanic exists in only two units, mostly EDN Bengaluru. Turner has zero seats at Jhansi and Trichy. A zero means you cannot apply for that trade in that unit.

BHEL says the numbers are tentative. Part of the Artisan posts is also set aside for dependants of deceased employees on compassionate grounds. If those go unfilled, they come back to open selection.

Category split by unit

PwBD and ExSM are horizontal, so they sit inside the vertical numbers. HEEP Haridwar and TP Jhansi have no ST seats. HPEP Hyderabad has an unusually high 16 PwBD seats.

The table above is the detailed advertisement as published. Some sites print TP Jhansi as 7 EWS and 12 SC. The PDF we read shows 6 EWS and 13 SC. If BHEL issues a corrigendum, we will update this table.

Who can apply

Qualification on 1 October 2026: Class 10, plus ITI (NTC), plus NAC, all in the trade you choose. You need 60% in both ITI and NAC if you are General or OBC, 55% if SC or ST. Both certificates must be dated on or before 1 October 2026.

An ITI without apprenticeship does not qualify. A NAC in a different trade does not qualify. Distance or part-time ITI does not qualify. SC, ST or PwBD candidates applying for an unreserved seat do not get the 55% relaxation.

Ex-servicemen with an Army, Navy or Air Force trade equivalency certificate are exempt from the minimum percentage.

Already in BHEL? If you are a temporary employee or have been selected for another BHEL post and are not yet regular or on probation, you cannot apply.

Age

Upper limit 27 for General and EWS on 1 October 2026. OBC (NCL) +3, SC and ST +5, PwBD +10 / +13 / +15. Ex-servicemen as per government rules. J&K domicile between 1980 and 1989: +5.

There is also an experience relaxation of up to 7 years. You need at least six months of relevant work and must give the experience in BHEL's format from the careers site. No candidate can be older than 56 with all relaxations added.

Selection: CBE, then skill test

Stage 1, Computer Based Examination. Held on one day for all units. Qualifying marks are 40% for UR and EWS and 30% for OBC (NCL), SC and ST. PwBD and ex-servicemen can be called below that, down to 30% and 22.5%.

Shortlisting is 1:3 against category-wise vacancies in your unit and trade. Where a trade has only one seat in a category, up to 5 candidates are called. UR candidates are shortlisted first from the combined list. Reserved candidates who did not make the UR list are then listed in their own category.

Stage 2, document verification and skill test. The skill test is qualifying only. Final merit is on the CBE score. So the CBE decides your rank and the skill test decides whether you stay in.

The advertisement does not print the number of questions, sections, time or negative marking for the CBE. It only says marks are counted out of 100 for shortlisting. More on that, and on how to prepare, is on the syllabus page.

The CBE is in Hindi, English, or one of Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. You can also address the skill test committee in your language.

Pay and terms

• First year: temporary artisan, Rs 24,000 a month, consolidated.
• After that: regular Artisan Grade IV at the minimum of Rs 29,500 to 65,000, plus allowances in force then.
• Best Apprentice of the DGET All India Skill Competition joins with two increments. Runner-Up joins at the minimum.
• 20-year posting rule: no transfer request for the first 20 years. A transfer for personal reasons, if allowed, means reversion to your entry post.
• Medical: BHEL's own medical rules, no relaxation. The post is not identified for blindness.
• Jurisdiction: the courts where your unit is. For Trichy, BHEL names the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.

Documents to sort out now

• OBC (NCL) certificate in the central format, issued on or after 1 January 2026, with the caste on the central OBC list.
• EWS Income and Asset Certificate valid for 2026-27, based on 2025-26 income. Without it at document verification you cannot take the skill test.
• PwBD certificate in the 2017 format, 40% or more benchmark disability.
• NOC from your employer if you work in government or a PSU.
• Experience certificate in BHEL's format if you want the age relaxation.

How to choose your unit

Look at three things together: the seats in your trade at that unit, your category's share, and whether you can live there for 20 years. A Welder from Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats at Vizag and 50 at Trichy. An Electrician from the Hindi belt has 18 each at Bhopal and Jhansi and 12 at Haridwar. An Electronics Mechanic really has one option, EDN Bengaluru with 20.

Competition will be heavier where seats are few and the city is popular. That is a judgement call, not a number in the PDF.

A 100-question Fitter trade mock is on the mock test page.