Graduate training schemes

Who may offer these schemes?

Graduate training schemes tend to be offered by large organisations in the fields of IT, finance, law, buying, marketing, retail, human resources, procurement and logistics, and are advertised to final-year students and those who have recently graduated.

Recruitment for schemes

Schemes are advertised from early October onwards for start dates in September the following year. While some have ongoing recruitment throughout the year, many of the most popular have closing dates, some as early as December. Some recruiters specify the type of graduate they require, but the majority recruit across a range of degree subjects and are also fairly flexible on graduation date.

Internships

There are an increasing number of 'internships' available to graduates and recent graduates. An internship is a temporary position with an employer, allowing you to gain on-the-job training. Graduate internships can provide opportunities for graduates to explore their interest in a particular career, gain experience in a chosen field and develop skills to help them gain future employment.

Internships can provide a valuable opportunity to enter a new career but it is important that you look carefully at the details before you apply as there are many differences between them and not all will be appropriate for you. For example:

• Some internships are paid, others are unpaid
• Many are full-time but a few may be part-time
• Some may require you to be currently unemployed and claiming benefit in order to be eligible to apply
• Internships are provided by a variety of employers, large and small
• The better internships will provide guidance and support and help you develop additional skills.
• Some internships may not be called 'internships' but described as 'work experience' or 'work placement' opportunities.

It is therefore important that, as with any opportunity, you thoroughly research the employer and the job before applying.

To find out more about internships visit these websites:

• Graduate Talent Pool - introduced in July 2009 this government sponsored site enables 2008 and 2009 graduates to search for internships across the UK.
• Direct Gov provides information and advice to graduates in England about options after you graduate, including getting a graduate job or placement.
• Wiki Job contains a series of articles about internships including information about how to get an internship.

Also look at our regional and national vacancy sources pages where we provide links to sources of jobs and internships.