Graduate schemes: the perfect career path after graduation

There’s a time, perhaps at the start of the third year at university, that graduates start to think about life after their studies, and the big, bad world of employment. Those who do leave without a plan or with a limited idea of what they want from their professional career are being stung by the tough job market. The solution for those with a bit of talent who planned ahead, perhaps from the start of their university career, is the graduate scheme – described as the ‘holy grail’ for many leavers by Savethestudent.org.

For those unfamiliar with the phrase, a graduate scheme is a structured programme that combines training and on-the-job experience, often in finance, marketing, retail management, NGOs and other competitive industries. And their intake reflects this; typically only about 15% of students get a place. 

The entry is taxing and you’ll need to prove that you’ve worked towards fulfilling all the criteria for a place on the scheme, and not just applied on a whim. Some schemes only last for a set period, but they can also be tailored for any career – for example, a PGCE based at a school counts as a graduate scheme. You’ll receive a recognized qualification at the end of your period which could be from 18 months up to 2-3 years.

The advantages of the scheme are numerous. Firstly, these schemes do what they say on the tin; they prepare graduates perfectly for the working world with a strong starting wage of £25,000 upwards, although often much more. Within 3-4 years it could be as much as doubled. 

You’ve also got a guaranteed job for several years at least – the company has invested sizeable money on your wages, training and mentoring, and it doesn’t want to waste it by seeing you disappear. Even if the spell is not permanent and you do leave, you’ll likely have a sterling name to impress future prospective employers on your CV such as Boots, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, Aldi (area manager) and many more. Other employers such as BGL Group offer well-rounded schemes in marketing, finance and technology.

You’ll also have the opportunity to travel across the country and world, operating in different offices and departments across Europe, America and the Far East. IT companies offer much scope for working across different departments and creating a rounded array of skills.

One of the other main advantages of the graduate scheme is mentoring. Any young employee would be glad of the opportunity of being guided through the early years of their working life, but there’s also another added advantage. If you’ve ever looked at launching your own business you’ll know that one of the strongest pieces of advice is to find a mentor who can guide you through the early stages of setting up a business, using their own experience of how things can go well and go wrong to help you. 

Finding a good one is paramount, but if you get through to a graduate scheme you’ve already got one chosen for you, and perhaps someone who could provide advice post-scheme – a great situation.

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that these schemes are tough to enter, but if you’ve got the drive to success and a willingness to learn and improve they could be the perfect platform for your entire career. There’s no time to waste.