Graduate Training Schemes - What to Expect
Often during the first year of your placement you will be involved in all areas of the business, sometimes through a rotation system, where you will learn the function of different departments and basic business skills. This builds on the knowledge you will already have from your university course and usually does not require any extra training - you will be taught by colleagues and learn by doing. In the second part of your placement, it is likely you will begin to learn more specialist skills relating to your career choice. This could entail more on the job training or a formal course or qualification supported by your employer.
However, not all graduate training schemes allow students to move around a company - sometimes you must decide which business function you wish to work in beforehand. You usually need only choose a broad function, not a specific role and areas such as marketing, communications, human resources and finance will give you the chance to familiarise yourself with your employer and their clients' businesses.
You should expect to have a mentor within the business, this can be your line manager or a senior executive. It is their role to guide you in your career choices, monitor your progress and regularly assess you and provide feedback. Sometimes you any also be offered a 'buddy' - a recent graduate of the training scheme who can act as a sounding board and offer peer support.
Graduate salary expectations
The general attraction of graduate training schemes is that you are getting paid to train, not just training to get paid. Although you are a classed as a trainee, you should expect to earn the average graduate salary in your field - with the bonus of added training. This differs from graduate roles where you earn a similar wage, but lack the benefit of intensive training, and therefore your career and salary progression can be slower.
Starting salaries for graduates range from £13,500 a year to £35,000, depending on the industry you work in. The average graduate wage is £18,600. Industries such as insurance and the public sector usually have slightly lower starting salaries, and legal services, banking and finance are at the higher end of the scale.
Usually your salary is non-negotiable when on a graduate training scheme and larger companies often have rigid pay structures that can be near impossible to break out of. However, benefit negotiation is more flexible, which can include free gym membership, help with repaying a student loan, subsidised transport costs and childcare. Annual leave allowance is another area where employers may be more flexible.
In areas where graduates are particularly sought after, such as engineering and IT, employers may offer extra incentives, such as relocation costs, golden hellos, interest-free loans to pay off student loans, lap tops and mobile phones.
Competition for places on training schemes
As places on graduate training schemes are by their very nature limited, there is fierce competition to be accepted. Recruiters are looking for the cream of graduate talent and will specify exactly what the minimum academic requirements are as well as candidate attributes they seek, such as experience in a particular area, clearly defined career goals or even personalities.
There is also competition within schemes as candidates vie for the best permanent roles and faster career progression. In financial institutions it is not unusual for graduates to be ranked to encourage internal competition, in the belief this will produce better performance and assist a trainee in the cut-throat industry. In the past some employers routinely dropped the bottom ten percent of their graduate intake, but this practice is rarely used now as the job market suffers from a lack of suitable candidates. Once you are accepted onto a scheme you should not drop your game, you should view it as an extended job interview, and use every opportunity to excel and get yourself noticed.
