Graduate Training Scheme

Environment & Science and Process Engineering scheme applications now open.

Find the right fit for you – scroll down or click the buttons below to learn more about each scheme.

Environment and Science

We develop environment and science professionals of the future to
create better places for people, wildlife, and the environment.

On our four-year graduate training scheme, you will be welcomed into one of a diverse range of permanent environments or science-based roles across the organisation. With a variety of jobs on offer, you can apply for a role based on your specific preferences, interests, and specialisms.

Our scheme provides the framework, mentoring, and opportunities for success in your chosen profession. The blended learning approach we offer combines events, professional development mentoring, and on-the-job experience to help you build skills, competency, and knowledge.

Duration

Approx. 4 years

Salary

Pay steps starting at £30,685

Location

Across England

Applications for the 2026 scheme are now open.

View table of available roles

Discover more about these roles, what we offer, and what we’re looking for in the Additional Candidate Pack attached to the advert.

Click Apply below to view the advert and start your application. Applications close 15 February; interviews in April; offers in May.

For further information or questions in relation to the scheme, please contact [email protected]

Apply now

Over four years, you’ll gain hands-on experience, develop expertise, and play a crucial role in creating a better place for people and the environment. Through a range of opportunities relevant to your wider department, you’ll develop to be our next generation of technical leaders
To be considered on the scheme, Graduate Trainees must have as a minimum an Honours degree in a relevant science or environment discipline. Further postgraduate qualifications can be considered.
Specific subjects required will be dependent on the specialised roles available each year, for this reason the specific subject requirements will change each year.
They’ll support you to create a personalised development plan that is bespoke to you, aligns with your professional journey and the needs of the business.
Protected time for Continued Professional Development, ensuring that learning is prioritised and used effectively.

Individual development plans developed with line managers, mentors, and technical coaches; aligning with your professional journey and the needs of the business.

Work alongside subject experts and colleagues in a base team. An opportunity to learn about the breadth of the organisation.

Support towards professional qualification, starting with Member/Technician/Practitioner Status and progressing towards Chartership.

Opportunities for project delivery, formal assignments, networking and incident response roles.

The scheme recruits for specific graduate roles across environmental and science disciplines, rather than a general graduate pool. Available roles vary each year based on business need. The 2026 roles include:
- Biodiversity Graduate Trainee
- Environmental Analyst Graduate Trainee
- Environmental Graduate Trainee
- Fisheries Graduate Trainee
- Flood Forecasting Graduate Trainee
- Flood Graduate Trainee
- Future Water Infrastructure Projects Graduate Trainee
- Geomorphologist Graduate Trainee
- Groundwater Graduate Trainee
- Hydrogeology Graduate Trainee
- Installations Regulation Graduate Trainee
- Permitting Graduate Trainee (FRAP, Mobile Plant, Waste, Water Quality, Water Resources)
- River Ecologist Graduate Trainee
- Water Quality Graduate Trainee
- Water Resources Graduate Trainee
- Water Resources Hydro‑ecology Graduate Trainee
- Water Resources Hydrology Graduate Trainee
- Flood and Coastal Risk Management Graduate Trainee
The Environment Agency are committed to establishing meaningful career pathways for graduates giving them opportunities to develop as chartered professionals into the technical leads needed for the future.

After completing the scheme (expected to take 4 years), graduates will apply for specialist roles in the organisation and follow their passions and interests. Working in the Environment Agency they will continue to develop technical skills and expert knowledge throughout their career.
Standard Environment Agency recruitment tends to use Competency based questions to evaluate applicants for positions. These questions tend to favour applicants who can give experiences based in professional settings. As we do not expect applicants to our career entry initiatives to have prior work experience, we have chosen a Behavioural Based Assessment (BBA) approach

Success criteria have been selected that the BBA will score you on, and you will be scored and given an overall percentile rating. A minimum overall rating will be set for this programme and you will not be invited to interview if you score below that threshold.

We have chosen the success criteria based on what is the most important capability for working in the Environment Agency. As an example, the BBA will measure how you structure and plan your workload, how you progress and complete tasks to expectations and adapting your behaviour for effective relationships. Please note these may not be the exact success criteria we have selected but are examples.

What does the assessment involve? Can you give me a description of what to expect? – Arctic Shores

Do I need to practice? – Arctic Shores

Everything you didn’t know about neurodiversity | Arctic Shores

Meet Thomas – Flood
Modelling Specialist, Graduate
Trainee

“The EA truly care about you holistically, not just professionally. Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) and work-life balance are top priorities”

“I first saw the scheme advertised in May 2023. The variety of roles and the opportunity of chartership really caught my eye. The staff here are excellent company and always seem happy to help. The flexibility and independence have made working with ADHD far more manageable than my previous roles too.”
“My experience with the scheme has exceeded my expectations. The training has equipped me with a comprehensive understanding of waste management legislation and permitting processes. I have worked alongside experienced professionals who have been supportive in guiding me through various tasks and projects. The ES-GTS has been a fantastic opportunity for me to kickstart my career in environmental science. It has allowed me to contribute to meaningful projects and gain invaluable insight into the waste management sector”

Process Engineering

We also offer a dedicated Process Engineering Graduate Training Scheme for chemical and process engineering graduates. This four-year programme is designed to develop future Chartered Engineers (CEng) through structured placements across industrial regulation, environmental compliance, and permitting. Participants gain hands-on experience in areas such as emissions control, incident response, and sustainable industry transitions, while receiving mentorship from Chartered Chemical Engineers. The scheme includes opportunities for secondments with external organisations and supports graduates in making a real-world impact on climate change and environmental protection.

Want to learn more? Join our Candidate Information Call on 11 February at 12 noon!

For further information or questions in relation to the scheme, please contact [email protected]

Duration

Approx. 4 years

Salary

Pay steps starting at £32,237

Location

Across England

Apply

EA team member carrying out maintenance while wearing PPE

EA team member carrying out maintenance while going through the manual

We have established this programme for chemical/process engineering graduates to develop our next generation of environmental regulators. The Environment Agency regulates a wide range of process industries to minimize impact to the environment while securing sustainable growth and employs multi-disciplinary teams across the country.
We need more chemical engineers to support our regulation of England’s process industries and this graduate programme will provide successful candidates with an insight to the various roles where chemical engineers are making a difference.

Our 4 year process engineering graduate scheme gives you the opportunity to gain valuable experience whilst complementing your studies and personal and professional growth.
The scheme is divided into 6-12 month postings in three main industrial regulation business areas, which are National Permitting, Operations and Environment & Business, and with possible secondments into other organisations.
You will initially spend a year in National Permitting, working alongside our permitting officers to review and assess permit applications from industrial operators to undertake new activities or modify permits to implement new regulatory requirements.
You will then join a Local Operations team to work alongside our experienced regulatory officers and support our regulation of a wide range of industrial installations such as chemical plants, power stations and cement works.
In Environment & Business, you will then work with our senior advisors on policy implementation for regulated industry and providing technical support to our regulatory and permitting officers
Many of the industries we regulate have a significant carbon footprint and will be undergoing significant changes to decarbonise their operations. Some businesses are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and need to adjust their infrastructure and ways of working to continue operating safely and economically.
Industrial sectors such as power generation, cement & lime production and oil refining are exploring how to decarbonise their operations using technologies such as hydrogen fuel and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
We need your chemical engineering skills to make sure we support this transition to a sustainable future with a climate resilient industry.
At the Environment Agency you can progress your career and feel comfortable to bring your whole self to work. We recognize that we are all unique individuals and value and embrace our differences. We foster an inclusive culture where colleagues from all backgrounds can feel their uniqueness is valued. Our success in this area was recognised in 2018 when we won the IChemE Diversity & Inclusion Global Award.
The programme will provide you with a variety of experiences to support your application to become a chartered chemical engineer with IChemE. We will also provide additional training and development and an IChemE mentor to help you on this professional journey.

“I joined the organisation as part of its inaugural summer diversity internship programme, before transferring to the process engineering programme. During my first posting I looked at a range of renewable alternative liquid fuels to gas oil and determined whether one or more of these alternatives can directly replace gas oil without an amendment to an environmental permit. I also worked on public engagement for the Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project at Drax, which is set to become the world’s first carbon negative power station!”
“I’m a BEng Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde. I worked with the UK BAT (Best Available Techniques) Team to develop the environmental standards for Common Waste Gas Management and Treatment in the Chemicals sector. I learned about the status of UK chemical sector, the chemical industry’s contribution to climate change and the risks and opportunities from climate change within the sector. I met with industry leaders and national Regulators to collaborate on producing the the published draft BAT document. I see myself building a practical experience of being on industrial sites and understanding how the Environment Agency plays a role to regulate those sites, and taking a permanent role to be able to influence climate change, while making use of my chemical engineering skills to understand processes on site.”

Engineering

We develop engineers of the future to enable us to reduce the risks to people, households and businesses
from flooding and meet the challenge of becoming a net-zero carbon organisation by 2030.

Our accredited Engineering Graduate Training Scheme (Eng-GTS) enables Civil, Mechanical and Electrical graduates to work towards becoming professionally qualified incorporated or chartered engineers, within four to five years. With the support of mentors, you will experience working on a range of flood and coastal risk management projects in different teams across the Environment Agency and beyond, with opportunities to go on secondment with our delivery partners and for international collaboration. This allows you to build skills in everything from: asset management to project feasibility; planning and design to project management; and site supervision to incident response. We have a thriving community of Graduate engineers who offer peer to peer support, alongside our experienced senior engineers who will guide and mentor you throughout your journey.

Duration

Approx. 3 – 5 years

Salary

Pay steps starting at £31,452

Location

UK wide

Our five-year Engineering Graduate Training Scheme provides a varied and well supported professional development journey to Incorporated and Chartered Engineer status, as well as the skills and opportunities to become future leaders within the Environment Agency.
We welcome applications from Graduate Engineers with accredited BEng or, ideally, an MEng degree in Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (or equivalent).

Candidates can check their course accreditation status using the following tools:
Successful candidates are required to hold or have acquired a full UK driving license within 6 months of starting the role.
With the support of your mentor, you will have the opportunity to experience working in different teams internally across the Environment Agency and externally, on secondment with our delivery partners, to enable you to build skills and experience in:
- asset management
- project feasibility
- design
- construction
- sustainability
- project management
- site supervision
- innovation and net zero carbon
- Our extensive and well-established community will help you learn and gain support from peers, experienced engineers, and a wide range of experts in their field.
- A dedicated team of Professional Development Advisors co-ordinate the scheme, and our busy programme of meetings, training and hub activities to support our professional development in engineering community.
- Flexible and development lead placement opportunities in internal as well as external teams, ensure you gain the wide range of skills and experience required to become professionally qualified engineers.
- A dedicated mentor will support you to plan your placement journey and tailor your experience depending on your individual development needs.
- Graduate Engineer leadership roles and our annual programme of networking, site visits and skills events across the country will help you progress your personal and professional development.
- Bespoke training packages targeted to inspire and motivate you towards your professional goals.
- Opportunity to be involved with national and international partnerships such as Young Professionals | The British Dam Society, Kring, I-STORM.
To ensure we provide you with the structured learning and professional development support you need to get professionally qualified, our scheme is externally accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Below are just some of the roles our Engineering Graduate Training Scheme alumni now have within the Environment Agency:
- Deputy Catchment Engineer
- Senior Engineer
- Catchment Engineer
- National Engineering Manager
- Asset Performance Advisor
- MEICA Advisor
- Senior MEICA Advisor
- Senior Innovation Advisor
- Project Manager
- Team Leader
- Project Team Manager
Recruitment is now underway for a new cohort of Engineering Graduates to join our prestigious Engineering Graduate Training Scheme in September 26.