Overview
SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje) is Colombia's national public body for vocational and technical training. It is not a single exam. You apply to a training programme and, for most programmes, take a selection test before you are admitted.
The rules on this page come from SENA's apprentice regulation, Acuerdo 0009 of 2024 (Reglamento del Aprendiz). The SENA website itself needs JavaScript and could not be read directly, so programme lists, intake calendars and open places are not covered. Check the SENA educational offer portal for those.
Who can apply
Minimum age is 14. Applicants under 18 need a parent, guardian or legal representative to sign an informed consent when they enrol.
Technician, operator and auxiliary programmes do not require an academic title.
Technological programmes require a bachillerato (secondary school) title and the Saber 11 (ICFES) certificate, or whichever test the Ministry of National Education requires.
Some trades have their own national or international rules with higher requirements. In those cases the stricter rules apply.
A foreign applicant living in Colombia can join if they hold identity documents issued by the competent Colombian authority and meet the entry requirements.
How to apply
Entry has four stages: registration, enrolment request (inscripcion), selection where it applies, and matriculation.
Register once in SENA's academic management system, with your valid Colombian identity document and your own contact details. Each person may have only one registration.
Apply to the programme you want through the SENA educational offer portal. Intake dates follow the academic calendar that SENA publishes for open labour and technological programmes.
If selected, complete matriculation by submitting the required documents and signing the apprentice commitment.
You cannot apply to a new programme while you have another valid application in a labour or technological programme, or while you have been called to selection tests, selected, or called to enrol in another one.
Exam pattern
Selection tests apply to all vocational training programmes except complementary training. SENA uses up to two tests:
Phase I: an online test of competencies.
Phase II: a controlled test or workshop. The training centre decides whether to use it.
The tests are personal and cannot be delegated. They are SENA's property, and copying or sharing them can lead to exclusion.
SENA may skip the test when fewer people apply than there are places. Applicants with preferential access for a given population face an eliminating test if the number of preferential applicants exceeds the places set aside for that group.
After the exam
Graduates of a SENA technician programme who hold a bachillerato title and Saber 11 results can move to a technological programme in the next intake without taking the selection test again. Graduates of a technician programme who continue along the same training chain can also enter the technological programme after an equivalence review, without the test.
To be certified, an apprentice in a technological programme must show evidence of having taken the tests that the Ministry of National Education sets for that level, and be registered with SENA's public employment agency (complementary-training apprentices are exempt from the registration).
Preparation tips
Read the entry profile of your chosen programme, because selection checks knowledge, aptitude and attitude against it.
Gather your identity document, school title and, for technological programmes, your Saber 11 results before the intake window opens.
Do I need a bachillerato to join SENA?
Not for technician, operator and auxiliary programmes. Technological programmes require the bachillerato title and Saber 11 results.
Is there always a selection test?
Not always. SENA can skip it when there are fewer applicants than places, and complementary training does not use it.