Graduate Scheme 2026

Graduate Scheme 2026

Application Deadline: 31 December 2025

Department: Commercial

Employment Type: Fixed Term Contract

Location: Head Office - Birmingham

Compensation: £32,851 / year

Description Role type: Full- time, Fixed Term 

Location: Birmingham for head office placements, or across our network for a frontline placement

About Us

London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway delivers around 1,300 train journeys a day, for more than 60 million passengers a year.

We are committed to delivering a safe and reliable train service, by investing in our fleet of trains, stations and employees. As part of this investment, we are looking to recruit graduates from September 2026 as part of our exciting London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway Graduate Programme.

Key Responsibilities
London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway Graduate Programme - What will you get involved in?

Making a real difference - Do you fancy managing and delivering projects on the railway that will make a real difference to passengers and the community? Would you like to lead and manage the running of some of our 150+ stations on the network? We are looking for talented graduates who have a large appetite for learning and desire to drive and make a difference working on the railway. 

Career opportunities within London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway following the graduate programme could be within one of our many departments, whether that is delivering rolling stock or infrastructure projects, stations or on board train management, or be a part of one of our many head office functions which keeps things ticking along in the background.

Developing core professional skillset - From dealing with customers to managing projects and interacting with internal and external stakeholders to get the job done, we will ensure that you have the right balance of courses, development and on the job training to develop your professional skills relevant to your placement role.

Experience life on the frontline as well as head office - During your 24 months on the programme we will balance your placements with a mixture of frontline experience working with customers and understanding our core business of running trains and managing stations, with placements within our head office functions so you can obtain as broad an experience of the West Midlands Trains business as much as possible. 

With over 30 distinct departments in London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway, we are confident that you will find the perfect role for you within the business, whether that is working on our exciting new station projects, providing excellence in customer service at our stations, managing the contract we have with our client the Department for Transport, formulating improved and innovative ways of delivering better services with our customer experience strategy team, train service planning for the future, the list goes on. The available opportunities and potential to develop are staggering and waiting for you.

Training grads to be future managers and leaders - We love to invest in our graduates and help you shape and progress your career with West Midlands Trains and prepare you to become future leaders of the business.

Who are we looking for?

Passionate, ambitious, driven individuals with a large appetite for learning and not afraid to ask questions or challenge the status quo. We are looking for a fresh perspective and inquisitive nature from our graduates and there will be ample opportunity for the individuals to be involved in shaping the future of our railway and making a real difference.

Those interested in a railway career will find the graduate scheme very rewarding and beneficial as it offers you first-hand experience of working within a train operating company and will provide you with a solid foundation on how UK railways operate.

We are looking for future managers and leaders so will be looking for leadership skills, ambition, energy and drive to make things happen. You should be passionate, relish challenges and being empowered to make decisions and work autonomously. You should have excellent communication skills, be customer-focussed, and possess the ability to work with stakeholders and build relationships across different levels. 

We want you to be visionaries and play a key part in setting the vision for the railway of the future.
 
Programme Overview

·2 year long programme spread across four 3-months long core placements throughout the first year, and a further 12 months in a specialised role within a department. ·Based in the head office in Birmingham for HQ roles, or across the London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway network for frontline positions depending on the placement. ·Opportunities for short mini secondments with other departments or even with other industry partners could be arranged. ·We offer a truly flexible graduate scheme whereby after the first 6 months of the programme, graduates will be able to select which departments they want to venture into for their 3rd and 4th placements. ·Extensive graduate support network including placement line manager, a graduate buddy, a senior manager as a mentor, and the graduate programme manager will ensure you are fully supported throughout.  

Programme Structure

The programme commences in September 2026 with a week-long onboarding process to include company induction, overview of key departments, as well as insight into the operation of one of our stations to allow graduates to experience a day in the life of a passenger.

Each graduate will be assigned a senior manager who will act as a mentor for the duration of programme. They will have mentoring sessions with the graduate and help set overall goals, training and development opportunities, as well as discuss the aspirations beyond the graduate scheme.

Graduates will be paired with a buddy who will assist with acclimatising to the London Northwestern & West Midlands Railway business as well as assist with general queries.

Line managers for each of the 4 placements will set placement objectives, plan work and training opportunities within the placement itself.

The first 2 placements will be preselected and placements 3 and 4 will be selected by the graduate by the time they commence their second placement. This will provide flexibility for the graduate to select the placements that they are interested in for their final 6 months of the first year.

The second year will see the graduate specialise in a role and will be assigned to a fixed department.

Training, Career Path and Progression

Training and development will be provided throughout your graduate scheme tailored to suit the placements.

On the job training and experience will form a core part of the training.

After placement 3, grads are expected to apply for suitable junior management / junior professional roles in the department where they would like to specialise for their second year.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Entry Requirements

2:1 in any degree subject.

Must have graduated with a Bachelor's degree within the last 3 years.

Application Process

Applications open from end September 2025 and will close end December 2025.

Assessment centre will be scheduled for February 2026.

Interviews will be scheduled for March 2026.

Offers will be made to successful candidates in April 2026.

Commence Graduate Programme in September 2026.

Due to the volume of applications, we receive, the advert may close earlier than the published closing date. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out.

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from all backgrounds and ensure no-one receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race/ethnicity, religion, belief and sexual orientation.

Benefits What is the salary and benefits?

• Starting salary £32,851.
• Railway Final Salary pension
• 25 days holiday (+ 8 bank holidays)
• Access to Extra Mile our Employee Benefits Portal for discounts, savings and cashback scheme from top retailers
• Free travel on all our trains and those of other train companies within our parent group company - for you, your partner and any dependent children
• FIP (European Travel Discount) card after 1 year service
• 75% discount off other TOCs
• Annual cycle to work scheme
• Career development opportunities
• Opportunities to get involved with our award winning Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Groups - Aspect, Embrace and Engender

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