11 Cool Graduate Schemes to Apply to Today

Will you be graduating from university soon, but don’t quite know what you want to do yet? No need to worry — plenty of soon-to-be grads and recent grads aren’t sure where they want their career to take them. In cases like these, it can be very beneficial to target positions that expose you to a wide variety of fields, so you can try out a handful of different options and learn what you enjoy as well as what you’re good at.

One of the best ways to do this is by applying for a graduate scheme, a programme in which you receive hands-on training and support from an employer, often rotating between several different teams. Graduate schemes provide you with valuable skills and experience, and frequently lead to full-time employment at the end of the programme as well, making it ideal for jobseekers who are just beginning their career.

But with so many graduate schemes out there, which ones should you apply to? We’ve curated a list of 11 cool graduate schemes found on Glassdoor across a wide variety of industries and business functions — read on below, and apply while you still can!

UKAEA Graduate Scheme - UK Atomic Energy Authority

Company Rating: 4.2

Location: Culham

Description: “With global energy demand rising and concerns over climate change growing, nuclear fusion has the potential to provide a safe, carbon-free, virtually limitless energy source. UKAEA research programmes located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy require a diverse range of people and disciplines to deliver this challenge… Our Graduate scheme aims to provide a solid launchpad for your career by giving you the skills and experience needed to maximise your potential. This two-year programme will provide you with a permanent role and a future career path.”

Data Analytics Graduate Scheme - Hastings Direct

Company Rating: 3.6

Location: Bexhill-On-Sea

Description: “Over the two years in this rotational scheme, you will take on placements in Data Engineering, Underwriting Decision Science, Retail Pricing and Retail Data Science. Each placement is designed to be hands-on. You will work on projects that make a real difference to our business. Your projects will involve machine learning, data science, data engineering, optimisation and artificial intelligence.”

Marketing Graduate Programme - BGL Group

Company Rating: 3.9

Location: Peterborough

Description: “Our two-year marketing scheme offers you around four six-month rotations across some of our beloved brands, like comparethemarket.com, Beagle Street and BGL Life. From going to TV Studio sets, analysing marketing campaigns to help drive our strategy, launching new products or websites or creating PR strategies, you’ll be provided with a strong foundation in consumer marketing. You’ll be exposed to such a variety of roles, helping you to build your career in the world of marketing and develop key foundations for your future having worked on projects that have a real impact to the business.”

2019 Graduate Training Scheme - McGregor Boyall Associates

Company Rating: 4.3

Location: London

Description: “The Role of a Recruitment Consultant is a fast paced and varied one. You will be finding candidates for live roles via LinkedIn, Head Hunting, CV Searching and advertising on job boards. You will interview and prepare candidates for interviews and get their feedback afterwards. You will also be liaising with clients, winning new business and ensuring the client is happy with the candidates you are presenting to them. You will be negotiating, closing deals and conducting face to face meetings.”

Software Developer Graduate Scheme - Mando Agency

Company Rating: 4.7

Location: Liverpool

Description: “Successful candidates will be working within a team of approx 20 amazing male and female developers and testers with knowledge of digital experience platforms such as Sitecore and Episerver, They will have the opportunity to develop skills using tools such as Git, TeamCity and Octopus Deploy, working on large projects for household name clients such as Merseyrail, Warburtons, Vodafone, Robinsons and United Utilities.”

Technical Graduate Scheme - TAB

Company Rating: 4.2

Location: London

Description: “Whether [you] love writing code or rolling your sleeves up to help teams operate at their best, if you’ve got the attitude and drive, we’d love to hear from you. We work with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Tesco, Ford and RBS. We’ll offer you a highly competitive salary and a guided training scheme that will give you exposure to the full product lifecycle. So, from day one you’ll get hands on experience, working on multi-million pound projects.”

Finance Graduate Scheme - JC Bamford Excavators

Company Rating: 3.3

Location: Rocester

Description: “Finance departments in any organisation are pivotal to the success of the business. Our 18 month Finance Graduate Scheme has been designed to provide talented individuals with the opportunity to experience a wide variety of roles within the business and to study a professional qualification alongside the scheme. During the 3 rotations you will not just shadow a colleague, you will play an active role in the team with your own responsibilities and objectives to achieve. The scheme will give you exposure to areas such as management accounting, cost accounting, internal audit, group reporting, taxation, vat or treasury.”

HR Graduate (Early Careers) Scheme - ENGIE

Company Rating: 3.2

Location: London, then various locations throughout the UK

Description: “You will begin your graduate scheme with a 12-month placement in the Early Careers Talent Team in Canary Wharf, London, before being able to choose either two additional 6-month placements, or a final 12-month placement in the wider HR business across the UK. ENGIE’s Talent Team is responsible for growing and developing our high potential employees. It works from a central point to develop a range of programmes designed to build the leaders of ENGIE’s future. The team manages our Early Careers schemes, recruiting and developing a central graduate scheme, and overseeing the company’s apprenticeship roles across the UK. The team also deliver a number of leadership programmes for existing staff, arrange mentoring and additional learning opportunities, develop career pathways and review succession plans.”

Graduate Scheme Special Schools & Pupil Referral Units - Teaching Personnel

Company Rating: 3.6

Location: Cardiff

Description: “No matter where you are located, we can guarantee we will be working with schools close to home who are always growing their teams to work efficiently with their pupils, old and new, within mainstream and/or additional learning needs settings. Whether your aim is to work within Child Development/Psychology on the long run or to potentially undertake a PGCE to become a Teacher, we will be able to place you in an adequate role, involving support with children aged 3 to 11 within a full classroom setting, small group or one-to-one intervention.”

Materials Engineer, Engineering Graduate Scheme - Bombardier

Company Rating: 3.3

Location: Derby

Description: “Bombardier Graduate Scheme is a 2-year programme aimed at bringing out the best out of the individual. You can expect to do placements across the various departments to gain a wider knowledge of the rail industry; including: project engineering, systems integration, materials engineering, test, human factors, fleet maintenance and many more. On the job learning is complemented by a modular and personal development programme. Supported by a mentor you will work towards gaining relevant chartered status with one of the engineering bodies such as the IMechE or IET.”

Core Marketing Graduate Scheme - The Stars Group

Company Rating: 4.2

Location: Leeds

Description: “Our graduate scheme offers a competitive salary, discretionary bonus and experience working for one of the world’s largest publicly listed online betting and gaming companies.” Successful candidates will take on six-month rotations on the CRM Delivery Management, Advertising and PR teams.