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Rolls-Royce early careers help students, school leavers and graduates gain hands-on experience and build future-ready skills, from work experience and apprenticeships through to internships, graduate programmes and PhDs.
Here are the Rolls-Royce early career opportunities you can apply to:
Let’s find out what each of these opportunities offers, starting with Rolls-Royce work experience.
Rolls-Royce work experience gives secondary school students an early look at careers in engineering and business, through a virtual programme you complete at your own pace and 4-day insight programmes at UK sites.
Good to Know: Rolls-Royce’s in-person insight programmes run from November 2026 to August 2027, with application windows opening from 18 September 2026. Dates vary by site and year group, so check the Rolls-Royce work experience page.
Discover On Demand:
A self-paced virtual work experience programme for students interested in engineering and business careers, completed through the Springpod platform.
Discover Behind-the-Scenes:
A 4-day in-person insight programme at Rolls-Royce sites in Solihull, Inchinnan, Derby and Bristol, with intakes for different year groups.
Next, let’s look at the Rolls-Royce apprenticeships.
Rolls-Royce apprenticeships combine paid, on-the-job training with study towards a recognised qualification. There are four levels, from Young Apprenticeships for Year 9 students to Degree Apprenticeships for school leavers with A levels.
Young Apprenticeships:
Open to students from Year 9 (age 14), with programmes such as the 2026 Young Apprenticeship Programme in Derby.
Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeships:
4-year programmes in roles such as Machinist, Fitter, Design Technician and Mechatronics Maintenance Technician, at sites including Derby, Bristol, Solihull, Inchinnan and Thurso.
Higher Apprenticeships:
Programmes such as the Nuclear Engineering Technician Higher Apprenticeship, with a salary of £21,512 in year one rising to £32,083 by year four.
Degree Apprenticeships:
Programmes in areas such as Engineering, Software Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Finance Professional and Supply Chain Management, paying £23,933 to £34,832 across years one to four.
Now, let’s discuss the Rolls-Royce internships that students can apply for.
Rolls-Royce internships give university students paid, hands-on experience in engineering and technology or business, either over a 10-week summer or across a full year.
Good to Know: Rolls-Royce interns and graduates can earn a starting salary of up to £31,000 a year, plus a £2,000 joining bonus and flexible rewards.
Next, let’s look at the Rolls-Royce graduate programme.
The Rolls-Royce Engineering and Technology Graduate Programme is a 2-year programme for STEM graduates. You’ll move through rotational gigs across the engineering lifecycle, combining on-the-job training with digital learning.
Good to Know: Assessment centres for the Engineering and Technology Graduate Programme typically run between November and December, and graduate candidates attend them virtually.
Rotational gigs:
Choose your own gigs and experiences to match your interests and career goals.
Design and Make project:
A mandatory practical project completed as part of the programme.
Salary and benefits:
A starting salary of up to £31,000, a £2,000 joining bonus, 33 days’ annual leave, and pension and share plans.
Business-minded graduates can also apply for the Rolls-Royce Enterprise Skills Accelerator. Let’s look at that next.
The Rolls-Royce Enterprise Skills Accelerator is a 12-month development programme for business-minded graduates, which can extend up to 24 months through additional gigs if further development is needed.
Good to Know: The Enterprise Skills Accelerator pays £40,000 a year plus a £5,000 joining bonus, and you’ll earn a professionally recognised postgraduate qualification on completion.
Programme structure:
An induction across UK locations, a 5-month placement in an enterprise department, and a 6-month strategic project with fellow participants.
Skills focus:
Develop commercial and financial acumen, a growth mindset and learning agility, and influencing and stakeholder management.
For those interested in research, Rolls-Royce also supports PhDs.
The Rolls-Royce PhD scholarship scheme allows its applicants to undertake a 3-year PhD program in partnership with industry to address key challenges in manufacturing engineering.
University network PhDs:
Research positions hosted by universities in Rolls-Royce’s UK network, including in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
University Technology Centre PhDs:
3-year PhDs based at Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres, such as the UTC in Manufacturing Technology.
Finally, let’s look at the early careers offered by Rolls-Royce SMR.
Rolls-Royce SMR, the Rolls-Royce business developing small modular reactors, runs its own apprenticeships and graduate roles. Apprentices train to deliver innovation and digital solutions as clean energy pioneers.
Apprenticeships leading to a qualification equivalent to A levels.
Level 4 and 5 Higher Apprenticeships:
Apprenticeships leading to a qualification equivalent to a foundation degree.
Level 6 and 7 Degree Apprenticeships:
Apprenticeships leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Graduate roles:
Graduate opportunities such as the Safety and Regulatory Affairs Graduate roles.
With this, we’ve covered all the Rolls-Royce early career opportunities you can apply to. Let’s look at the application process next.
The application process varies depending on the opportunity you’re applying for. However, the Rolls-Royce application process may typically involve the following stages:
The Rolls-Royce online assessments are run by Aon through its chatAssess platform. Once you’re invited, you’ll have 7 days to complete them.
Good to Know:
Depending on the role you apply for, Rolls-Royce may also ask you to complete a numerical reasoning test, verbal reasoning test or mechanical-technical test.
Discover all stages of the Rolls-Royce recruitment process here!
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Before you start your Rolls-Royce application, check out the FAQs below for more on Rolls-Royce’s early career programmes.
The Engineering and Technology Graduate Programme is a 2-year programme for STEM graduates. The Enterprise Skills Accelerator is a 12-month programme for business-minded graduates, and isn’t for engineering graduates.
Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeships last 4 years. Higher and Degree Apprenticeship lengths vary by programme, with some finance degree apprenticeships running into a fifth year.
Interns and graduates can earn up to £31,000 a year plus a £2,000 joining bonus. The Enterprise Skills Accelerator pays £40,000 plus a £5,000 joining bonus.
Yes. Young Apprenticeships are open from Year 9 (age 14), and the Discover Behind-the-Scenes insight programmes are open to students in Years 11 to 13.
Level 3 apprenticeships are offered at sites including Derby, Bristol, Annesley, Solihull, Washington, Inchinnan, Ansty, Thurso, East Grinstead, Rotherham and Barnoldswick.
It depends on the programme. Graduate and internship candidates attend a virtual assessment centre, while apprenticeship candidates attend in person.
Start preparing for the Rolls-Royce recruitment process with GF today, the only aptitude practice test experts providing practice test solutions to over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe. Practice with peace of mind; no subscription required, and a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests.
Start preparing for the Rolls-Royce recruitment process with GF today, the only aptitude practice test experts providing practice test solutions to over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe.
Practice with peace of mind; no subscription required, and a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests.
Click the links below to uncover more about the Rolls-Royce recruitment process:
This article was last updated on 9 October 2026. All information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at publication, based on publicly available sources. For the latest details, please verify directly with Rolls-Royce.
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