Placements FAQs

Our summer and industrial placement opportunities open for applications from mid-October and will be advertised on our early careers website. You can join our Talent Community  to receive emails with tips and advice and to be notified when applications re-open.

At present, if you have a qualifying student visa, you can apply to our summer or Industrial placement roles provided you have working rights attached to it, there are no conditions attached to the visa restricting your undertaking the role on offer, and the visa will remain valid for the duration of the placement. For more detailed information please refer to our International Students page.

Our entry requirements vary by role so please check the job description before applying. If you feel you don’t meet any of these minimum requirements then we do offer a range of direct hire opportunities, which you can find on our job search page.

You can only make one application per recruitment campaign, so we encourage you to explore the information on our careers site to learn about the opportunities we offer. Consider which best aligns with your skills, interests and career ambitions before applying. Taking the time to explore your options can help you find the opportunity where you can thrive. If you’d like to learn more about our opportunities or have any questions before applying, you can connect with our Early Careers mentors through our Early Careers TalentConnector platform.

Our placements are a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to work with us and are designed to support and complement your degree studies. Whether you’re spending several weeks with us over the summer or 12 months on an industrial placement, you’ll gain invaluable experience in the working world, equipping you with knowledge and understanding of the industry that couldn’t otherwise be obtained through academic studies alone. Upon completion of a successful placement, you could potentially be fast-tracked onto our Graduate Development Programme! Exceptional candidates may also be offered financial support when returning to university.

Our paid placement opportunities are designed for students from all degree years (except the final year of study generally) and include:

Summer placements - lasting at least 8 weeks and are completed during your longest academic break from university. They usually run from June through to August.

Industrial placements – often built into and count towards a degree course. They usually commence at the beginning of the academic year (September/October) and they typically last 12 months.

The exact dates for both types of placements are finalised at the offer stage.

Your experience will vary depending on the team you join, but you can expect to take on real responsibilities, contribute to live projects, and develop the skills and experience needed for your future career. You'll work alongside experienced colleagues who will support your development and help you make the most of your time with us. Read about the experiences of some of our placement students.

Our placements are full-time paid work posts, designed to support and complement the academic learning of undergrad and post-grad students who are studying a relevant degree. Whether it’s spending several weeks with us over the summer or 12 months on an industrial placement, you’ll gain invaluable experience in the working world, equipping you with knowledge and understanding of the industry that couldn’t otherwise be obtained through academic studies alone. Plus, it’s a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to work with us.

Our top performing placement students have the opportunity to be fast-tracked onto our Graduate Development Programme upon completion of a successful placement! This means that you could bypass the graduate recruitment process and secure your permanent graduate role as you enter your final year of university so you can focus on your studies.

Our recruitment process consists of five simple steps: 

1.Find the right opportunity 
Explore our opportunities and choose the role that best aligns with your skills, interests and career ambitions. 

2.Apply online 
Complete our application form and tell us more about yourself, your education and your interests. 

3.Take part in our immersive online assessment 
This helps us understand your strengths, potential and approach to different situations. 

4.Attend a virtual interview 
This applies to industrial placements only as summer placements go through a matching process. Meet members of the hiring team, tell us more about yourself and learn more about the role, team and life at AtkinsRéalis. 

5.Receive your interview outcome 
We'll let you know the outcome of your interview and, if successful, discuss your offer and next steps. 

Each stage is designed to help us understand your skills and potential, while giving you the opportunity to learn more about AtkinsRéalis and whether the role is right for you.

Our closing dates may vary by role, so please read the job description for details. However, we may close earlier than the specified date based on the volume of applications we receive, so we recommend you submit your application as soon as possible to ensure that you don’t miss out on your preferred role.

We don’t accept or need CVs or cover letters for our Early Careers roles. We capture all the details we need to assess your application on our online application, which is designed to identify your potential, rather than looking back at past experience.

Please contact [email protected] with a brief description of the issue and a screen shot if possible. We’ll be in touch as soon as we can to support you through the next steps. We recommend that you save your application as you work on it and you’ll have the chance to edit it before you submit.

We’re delighted to hear you’ve taken the first step on your journey with us and made your application. You’ll see live updates on your application by logging into your candidate area. You’ll also receive email updates, so keep an eye on your inbox.

As part of the AtkinsRéalis recruitment process, you'll be invited to complete our Online Immersive Assessment.  

This stage helps us understand how you approach different situations and provides insight into the skills and potential you'll bring to AtkinsRéalis.  

You’ll complete a range of interactive exercises, including cognitive tasks designed to explore your approach to problem-solving and how you process information. There are no video interview questions included in this assessment.  

To complete the assessment, you’ll need: 

A suitable device 
For the best experience, we recommend using a laptop or desktop computer, as this provides the most reliable and user-friendly format. However, you can also access the assessment on a tablet or mobile device.  

Good internet connectivity 
Ensure you have a strong and stable internet connection throughout the assessment. 

Time and space to focus 
Set aside time in a comfortable environment where you can concentrate and complete the assessment without interruptions. 

The assessment typically takes around 45 minutes to complete. While there is no strict time limit, we recommend setting aside enough time to complete it in one sitting.  

To help you prepare, we've provided a practice assessment that closely reflects the format and experience of the real assessment.  

Interviews for our year in industry roles usually take place between November and April. However, we recommend that you complete your application as soon as possible as some roles are very popular.

Our summer students no longer need to do an interview. We'll take your application and online immersive assessment and consider you for the role you've applied for. If shortlisted, you’ll have a call with the business to find out about the team, what you could be doing on a placement with us and meet some of the team you could be working with, so you can be confident that you’ve made the right choice.

If you’re no longer able to attend, please contact us at [email protected] or contact your recruiter directly to let us know. It may be possible to reschedule but we’re unable to guarantee this due to high volumes and the number of people involved in the process.

We’ll let you know when you can expect to hear from us at the end of your interview. The exact timeframes may vary depending on the role you’re being considered for, but we’ll contact you by phone or email with an update, so please make sure your contact details are up to date in your application.

We recognise that generative AI tools are becoming an increasingly valuable part of everyday life and work.

You're welcome to use these tools to help you prepare for your assessment and interview. For example, you may wish to use AI to research our organisation, practice interview questions, or explore career development topics.

However, during the assessment and interview process itself, we ask that all responses be your own. We're interested in hearing your ideas, experiences and perspectives. Understanding how you naturally think and approach situations helps us assess your potential far more effectively than polished or AI‑generated responses.

Integrity is one of our core values, and we ask all candidates to demonstrate this throughout the recruitment process.

Technology helps us manage applications efficiently, but it doesn't replace human decision-making. Technology may support elements of our recruitment process, however recruitment and hiring decisions are made by people. Our Early Careers recruitment team oversees candidate progression and shortlisting decisions, while hiring managers meet candidates during the interview stage and make the final hiring decision.

As a placement student you’ll be aligned to a specific office, but you may be required to have a flexible and agile approach to working from other offices, client sites or from home depending on the projects you are working on.

You can expect to spend a minimum of three days a week in the office or on client site (project dependent). Being together in person helps us build stronger relationships, collaborate more effectively, and accelerate your learning and development.

Our placement salaries are between £24,570 and £28,808 per annum (pro rata for summer placements) depending on role and location. As a Real Living Wage Employer, we are committed to offering the Real Living Wage to our placement students. This is in recognition of the value placement students bring to our business, ensuring that whatever route you take to start or develop your career, you can expect a fair salary, with a clear and open pathway to progress.

Yes, we’re proud to be a Disability Confident accredited employer, and we can provide reasonable adjustments to enable you to demonstrate your full potential throughout our recruitment process. Please let us know as soon as possible about any adjustments you may require so that we can put them in place at the right time. Please contact us on [email protected] to discuss this in confidence. Learn more about AtkinsRéalis as a disability confident employer.

We know it can be difficult sometimes to talk about personal things but we’re here to support you during the recruitment process. Please let us know as soon as possible if you require any adjustments or changes to the interview process so we can put them in place at the right time. Contact us at [email protected].  Learn more about AtkinsRéalis as a disability confident employer.

We want you to perform your best at all stages of our recruitment process and can make adjustments to support this. Examples of adjustments we have made in the past include, but are not limited to, providing assistive technology; extra time; changing the format of an assessment; scheduling an interview at a specific time; and ensuring there is access. For further information and to discuss how we can support you, please contact [email protected]. Learn more about AtkinsRéalis as a disability confident employer.

If you have a specific question related to disability, please contact [email protected]. All conversations are confidential.