2026 Year in Industry Placements

Description
What if you could shape a career as unique as you?   At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you. 

We are seeking Year in Industry Placement students, who have a flexible approach and an appetite to learn in a leading Engineering, Environmental and Professional Advisory services consultancy. We want you to enjoy working in a collaborative environment where you can apply your skills working for a diverse range of clients and projects.  

Join us for a Year in Industry Placement at WSP and you'll find yourself working with our Specialists on projects they are involved with, in more fascinating and far-reaching ways than ever before. You'll explore new and inspiring opportunities, putting your degree course knowledge into practice in real life. As well as being able to obtain experience, that directly aligns to your area of study, which will help to broaden your professional horizons and create exciting new possibilities for people, organisations and future generations.

We are recruiting for Year in Industry Placements in a wide range of disciplines and locations; considered degrees for roles are listed on our Placements webpage.
The main sectors that we recruit into are mentioned but not exclusive to:

• Advisory – Geospatial Services – Birmingham, Bristol, London or Manchester
  Degrees considered: Geography, Computer Science, Geographic Information System & Remote Sensing
   
• Architecture - Cardiff
  Degrees considered - BA Architecture
   
• Bridge Engineering – Belfast, London & Wrexham
  Degrees considered: Civil Engineering & Structural Engineering
   
• Energy Asset Management & Advisory  - Glasgow or Newcastle
  Degrees considered - Electrical Engineering
   
• Energy Networks - Birmingham or Newcastle
  Degrees considered - Electrical Engineering
   
• Energy Offshore Wind - Glasgow, London or Newcastle
  Degrees considered - Electrical Engineering
   
• Infrastructure Planning – London
  Degrees considered: Town Planning, Urban Planning, Real Estate
   
• Intelligent Infrastructure – Transport Network Operations – Birmingham, Guildford, Liverpool, London or Manchester
  Degrees considered: Geography, Transport-related degrees & Civil Engineering
   
• Rail - Rail Engineering Services - Birmingham, Manchester or London
  Degrees considered: Civil Engineering, Project Management, Engineering Management, Data Science & Computer Science
   
• Rail – Systems Engineering – Manchester
  Degrees considered: MEng Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Electrical Engineering
   
• Roads - Cardiff
  Degrees considered: Civil Engineering 
   
• Water – Asset Design – London & Newcastle
  Degrees considered: Civil Engineering, Process Engineering & Chemical Engineering
   
• Water – Asset Management – Birmingham, Belfast, Derby, Exeter & Glasgow
  Degrees considered: Civil Engineering, Geographic Information System, Geography, Environmental Sciences/ Management & Environmental Engineering

Scholarships at WSP

On completion of your placement and following positive feedback from you and your team, you may be considered for a scholarship for the remainder of your studies. This would allow you to return for future placement and graduate opportunities with WSP, all whilst receiving a bursary payment from us during each year of your studies.

Our scholarship scheme helps us to find high potential talent for our Graduate programme, whilst also allowing students to obtain real industry experience throughout their studies. 

Graduate Development Programme

Our two-year Graduate Development programme is designed to support personal and professional development and growth through an engaging blended learning experience. The programmes include core business and professional skills training, career development workshops and resources, valuable networking opportunities, mentoring for professional registration and a breadth of on-the-job experience. 

Our teams are dedicated to supporting your career growth from the very beginning. Many employees have started as graduates and successfully advanced within the company. We encourage you to achieve chartered status with professional bodies such as the ICE and IStructE making your development a priority. You will be fully supported through enrolment in a professional institution's training agreement, guiding you towards chartered status.

To find out more, please visit: Early Careers brochure

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate

You'll be studying and working towards completing your degree with at least a 2:2 in a Master's degree in a relevant subject for the role you are applying for. 

• Candidates must complete the application form in full answering all specific questions. This requirement applies to all candidates, inclusive of their background. Successful completion of this stage is mandatory. Candidates who pass this initial stage, will then be required to complete an online skill enabler assessment. Both the application form and the skill enabler assessment are essential parts of the early career's recruitment process.
• You'll be looking to start your placement in June/July and be available up to the end of August
• Have a passion for Sustainable Engineering, Planning and / or consulting solutions 
• An enthusiasm for creativity and a drive to solve problems
• You'll want to inspire us, sharing new ideas you have
• In your team, you will be dealing with internal and external stakeholders and collaborating with colleagues and adapting to dynamic project environments. 

Don't quite meet all the criteria? Should you have the right qualifications for our roles, apply and we can see how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities we have available for our Graduate programme"

For further information regarding our Application & Selection process, including timelines for recruitment, please visit our Early Careers brochure -  Early Careers brochure application & Selection

We review applications for our Early Career opportunities on a rolling basis, which means we begin progressing some candidates to the final stages before the application closing date. To ensure your application receives full consideration, we recommend submitting it as early as possible.

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.  

Work on landmark projects around the world and embrace opportunities to make an even bigger impact in the communities you care about. What if you could do the best work of your life and create a legacy for yourself?  

With us, you can. Apply today.

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