What Makes a Graduate Scheme Worth Applying To?
Not all tech graduate schemes are equal. The best ones combine a competitive salary, genuine technical challenge, structured mentoring, and strong alumni networks. The weaker ones offer low pay, shallow rotations, and minimal real engineering work.
This list ranks the UK's top tech graduate schemes by a combination of salary, technical depth, career outcomes, and reputation - based on candidate feedback and publicly available data. For context on how graduate schemes differ from standard jobs, read our comparison guide: graduate scheme vs graduate job in UK tech.
Tier 1 - The Elite
1. Google EMEA Associate Product Manager / STEP Programme
Type: Engineering internship (penultimate year) leading to full-time offer
Salary: £70,000–£90,000 + bonus + RSUs
Location: London (Kings Cross)
What it involves: Real engineering projects from day one. STEP is specifically designed for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Technical bar is high - typically 3–4 rounds of LeetCode-style interviews plus a system design round.
Application opens: September. Closes as early as October.
Best for: Graduates aiming for FAANG who want the highest technical bar and best long-term career optionality.
2. Amazon Future Engineer / Software Development Engineer Graduate
Salary: £55,000–£75,000 + sign-on + RSUs
Location: London, Edinburgh, Luxembourg
What it involves: Direct placement into an engineering team. Amazon does not run formal rotations - you join a team and contribute immediately. Known for heavy use of Leadership Principles in behavioural interviews.
Application opens: August–September. Closes by November for UK roles.
Best for: Graduates who want the Amazon brand, a high-performing culture, and genuinely complex distributed systems work from year one.
3. Arm Graduate Programme
Salary: £40,000–£55,000
Location: Cambridge (HQ), Belfast, Bristol
What it involves: The most technically rigorous hardware/software scheme in the UK. Graduates work on processor IP, compilers, performance tools, and firmware. Rotational structure across 18 months.
Application opens: October. Roles fill quickly.
Best for: Computer science and computer engineering graduates with a genuine interest in low-level systems, compilers, and processor architecture.
4. Goldman Sachs Technology Analyst Programme
Salary: £65,000–£75,000
Location: London (Plumtree Court), Bengaluru
What it involves: 2-year rotational programme across core engineering divisions - risk, execution, quantitative engineering. Known for strong pay, high pressure, and exceptional alumni networks in finance-tech.
Application opens: August. Apply by October for best chances.
Best for: Graduates interested in financial technology, quantitative systems, and high-performance computing.
Tier 2 - Strong Programmes
5. Microsoft Explore / Full-Time SWE Programme
Salary: £55,000–£65,000 + RSUs
Location: London
What it involves: Explore is a 12-week internship programme for first/second year students. Full-time SWE hires go directly into product teams. Excellent mentoring culture and generous benefits.
6. JP Morgan Technology Analyst Programme
Salary: £55,000–£65,000
Location: London, Edinburgh, Bournemouth
What it involves: 2-year rotational programme across investment banking technology. Strong emphasis on Python, Java, and cloud-native development. Edinburgh campus is a major technology hub.
7. GCHQ Graduate Development Programme
Salary: £32,000–£38,000 (+ government pension scheme)
Location: Cheltenham, London, Manchester
What it involves: One of the most unique tech graduate programmes in the UK. Rotations across cyber, data, and intelligence technology. Requires DV (Developed Vetting) security clearance - must be a UK national.
Best for: Graduates interested in national security, offensive/defensive cyber, or signals intelligence who are eligible for security clearance.
8. Barclays Technology Graduate Programme
Salary: £42,000–£48,000
Location: London, Northampton, Glasgow, Radbroke (Knutsford)
What it involves: 18-month rotational programme. Strong in payments technology, cloud migration, and data engineering. Known for structured learning and a large graduate cohort.
9. BT Technology Graduate Scheme
Salary: £30,000–£36,000
Location: UK-wide (London, Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol)
What it involves: Rotations across network engineering, software development, cybersecurity, and AI. Strong training programme and professional qualifications (AWS, Azure).
10. Rolls-Royce Digital Technology Graduate Scheme
Salary: £31,000–£36,000
Location: Derby, Bristol, London
What it involves: Unique placement in aerospace and industrial engineering digital transformation. Rotations across embedded systems, data science, and digital manufacturing.
Tier 3 - Solid Entry Points
11. Capgemini Technology Graduate Programme
Salary: £28,000–£34,000
Location: UK-wide
What it involves: Consulting-adjacent technology work. Broad exposure across clients in public sector, financial services, and retail. Good for graduates who want variety over deep specialisation.
12. Accenture Technology Graduate Programme
Salary: £28,000–£33,000
Location: London, Edinburgh, Manchester
What it involves: Technology consulting with client delivery. Heavy training and certification investment (AWS, Salesforce, SAP). Brand name opens doors in consulting and enterprise tech.
13. IBM Graduate Scheme
Salary: £28,000–£34,000
Location: UK-wide
What it involves: Hybrid technical/consulting roles. IBM puts significant investment into learning (IBM SkillsBuild, professional certifications). Good exit opportunities into mid-market enterprise technology.
14. Deloitte Technology Graduate Scheme
Salary: £32,000–£38,000
Location: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh
What it involves: Technology strategy and delivery consulting. Strong for graduates who want the Big Four brand and exposure to large-scale digital transformation projects.
15. NatWest Group Technology Graduate Programme
Salary: £30,000–£36,000
Location: Edinburgh, London, Manchester
What it involves: Rotational programme across retail banking technology, data engineering, and cybersecurity. Strong training provision and growing presence in Edinburgh's tech hub.
How to Apply Successfully
The most common reason graduates fail to progress in scheme applications isn't technical ability - it's poor preparation for the non-technical stages (SJTs, video interviews, assessment centres). Before you apply:
- Research the company's values and map your examples to them specifically
- Practise STAR-format answers for behavioural questions out loud
- Use GradSignal's interview playbooks to understand the exact technical questions each company asks
- Apply by September or October - most Tier 1 schemes close well before the stated deadline as soon as they fill
Set up a graduate scheme alert on GradSignal to be notified as soon as new scheme listings go live so you never miss an opening window.