Labor and Social Security Law
Content current as of March 6, 2026, based on the regulations in force on that date.
Apprenticeship Contracts in Colombia: A Practical Guide for Companies
Decreto 223 de 2026 took effect on March 6, 2026, setting out how apprenticeship contracts work in practice in Colombia. This guide explains the rules that companies must follow today when engaging apprentices: the nature of the contract, the monthly support payment (known under Colombian law as the apoyo de sostenimiento), social security coverage, the mandatory apprenticeship quota, and the payment in lieu of fulfilling that quota (known under Colombian law as monetización de la cuota).
An apprenticeship contract is a special, fixed-term labor contract. It differs from an ordinary individual employment contract and from the separate training placement governed under Colombian law as vinculación formativa. This guide covers only the apprenticeship contract regulated by Ley 2466 de 2025 and Decreto 223 de 2026.
Schedule a consultation on apprenticeship contractsRegulatory Framework: What Each Source Contributes
The current legal regime governing apprenticeship contracts rests on four sources, each serving a different function.
Ley 789 de 2002 determines which companies are subject to the mandatory apprenticeship quota, sets out the formula for calculating that quota, and governs the payment in lieu of fulfilling it.
Ley 2466 de 2025 amended Article 81 of the Colombian Labor Code (Código Sustantivo del Trabajo). This reform defined the apprenticeship contract as a special, fixed-term labor contract and set out its main substantive rules on duration, the monthly support payment, social security coverage, and labor guarantees. It also amended Article 34 of Ley 789 de 2002, which governs the payment in lieu of fulfilling the quota.
Decreto 223 de 2026 regulates labor practices and apprenticeship contracts. Among other matters, it develops the rules for reporting, determining, and monitoring the quota, voluntary contracts, the operational rules for the payment in lieu of the quota, and oversight and control obligations. The obligation to engage apprentices, the formula for the quota, and the amount of that payment all have their legal basis in Ley 789 de 2002 and Ley 2466 de 2025.
Circular Externa 083 de 2025 contains general guidance on implementing Article 21 of Ley 2466 de 2025. It may still be useful for interpretation on matters that remain compatible with the later regulation, particularly when reviewing contracts that were already in force when the reform took effect.
Nature and Duration of the Apprenticeship Contract
The apprenticeship contract is a special, fixed-term labor contract with a training purpose. The apprentice's subordination to the sponsoring company is limited to activities that are part of the training process itself.
The contract's duration depends on the training program the apprentice is enrolled in, subject to a maximum of three years.
Traditional Training Track
Instructional Phase (fase lectiva)
During the instructional phase, the monthly support payment cannot be lower than 75% of one Colombian statutory monthly minimum wage (salario mínimo legal mensual vigente, or SMLMV). During this phase, the apprentice must be enrolled as a dependent worker in the Colombian health and occupational risk systems, with the corresponding contributions fully paid by the sponsoring company.
Practical Phase
During the practical phase, the monthly support payment cannot be lower than 100% of one SMLMV. During this phase, the apprentice must be enrolled in the Colombian health, pension, and occupational risk systems under the rules applicable to dependent workers. The apprentice is also entitled to the recognition and payment of all benefits, allowances, and other rights that come with the labor contract.
Dual Training Track
In the dual training track, the monthly support payment increases in stages: it cannot be lower than 75% of one SMLMV during the first year, and cannot be lower than 100% of one SMLMV during the second year.
Throughout the dual training track, during both the first and second year, the apprentice must be enrolled in the Colombian health, pension, and occupational risk systems under the rules applicable to dependent workers. The apprentice is also entitled to the recognition and payment of all benefits, allowances, and other rights that come with the labor contract.
University Student Apprentices
When the apprentice is a university student, the monthly support payment cannot be lower than one SMLMV, regardless of whether the training is dual or not.
Is the Monthly Support Payment Considered Salary?
Colombian law still refers to this payment as the apoyo de sostenimiento mensual (monthly support payment). Before Ley 2466 de 2025, Article 30 of Ley 789 de 2002 expressly stated that this payment did not constitute salary. The new Article 81 of the Labor Code does not repeat that express exclusion.
This guide does not reach a general conclusion on whether the monthly support payment constitutes salary. Its legal characterization must be assessed under the current framework and the specific facts of each case. This open question does not affect the express obligations to provide social security coverage or to recognize the benefits, allowances, and other rights set out for the practical phase and for the entire dual training track.
Mandatory Apprenticeship Quota
Article 32 of Ley 789 de 2002 makes the apprenticeship quota mandatory for private companies, whether run by individuals or legal entities, that carry out economic activities other than construction and have fifteen (15) or more workers. It also applies to state industrial and commercial companies and to mixed-economy companies at the national, departmental, district, and municipal levels, on the terms set out in the law itself.
Article 33 of the same law sets out how many apprentices each company subject to the mandatory apprenticeship quota must engage: one apprentice for every twenty (20) workers, plus one additional apprentice for every fraction of ten (10) or more that does not exceed twenty. Companies with between fifteen (15) and twenty (20) workers must engage one apprentice. The exact figure for each company is set by the SENA regional office for its principal place of business.
Payment in Lieu of Fulfilling the Apprenticeship Quota
Article 34 of Ley 789 de 2002, as amended by Article 23 of Ley 2466 de 2025, requires companies subject to the mandatory apprenticeship quota to pay SENA a monthly amount of one point five (1.5) SMLMV for each apprentice they do not engage to complete the quota. This is the payment in lieu of fulfilling the apprenticeship quota. The company may fulfill this obligation through partial payment, in which case the amount is proportional to the portion of the mandatory apprenticeship quota that remains unfulfilled.
These rules originate in Ley 789 de 2002 and in its amendment by Ley 2466 de 2025, not in Decreto 223 de 2026, which only regulates how this payment operates in practice.
Contracts in Transition
Circular Externa 083 de 2025 indicated that apprenticeship contracts already in force on June 25, 2025 became subject to Ley 2466 de 2025 for situations arising from that date onward. For situations not yet settled, or rights not yet accrued, the circular directed that the regulation more favorable to the apprentice should apply.
Contracts entered into after Ley 2466 de 2025 took effect are subject to the new regime from the moment they are signed. Applying these rules to a specific contract requires reviewing its dates, its current phase, and the rights already accrued under it. The application of the more favorable rule should not be understood as a general rule permitting retroactive application.
What Your Company Should Review
Before entering into a new apprenticeship contract, or auditing the ones already in force, a company should review, among other points:
- The apprentice's training track (traditional, dual, or university) and the corresponding program and duration.
- The phase the apprentice is currently in (instructional, practical, or the stages specific to the dual training track).
- The amount of the monthly support payment that applies to that phase.
- The social security enrollments and contributions that must be kept up to date.
- The benefits and allowances that apply to the apprentice.
- The apprenticeship quota assigned by the SENA regional office.
- Whether it makes sense to make the quota payment in full or in part instead of engaging apprentices.
- How to treat contracts that fall within the transition between the previous regime and the current one.
- The status of its reports and its dealings with SENA.
This list is not exhaustive, and it does not replace an individual legal review of each case.
In Summary
The apprenticeship contract combines a training purpose with specific labor obligations for the sponsoring company, including the monthly support payment, social security enrollment, and the guarantees that apply to each phase. When a company is subject to the mandatory apprenticeship quota, it must also review its required number of apprentices and, where applicable, the rules on the payment in lieu of fulfilling it.
Ley 789 de 2002 governs who is subject to the quota, the formula for calculating it, and the payment in lieu of fulfilling it; Ley 2466 de 2025 sets out the current substantive rules and changed the amount of that payment; Decreto 223 de 2026 develops how all of this works in operational practice; and Circular Externa 083 de 2025 offers interpretive guidance for matters that remain compatible with the later regulation.
Applying this framework correctly helps companies avoid contingencies with SENA and with the apprentice.
Our Team, At Your Service
The Giraldo Velasco Abogados team handles matters relating to apprenticeship contracts, the mandatory apprenticeship quota and the related payment, regularization and transition issues, and comprehensive advice on this area of law. Our team has advised more than 100 companies on labor matters, with service throughout Colombia, both in person and online.