Apprentices, Graduates and Placements

Whether you are a school leaver, at University or wanting to retrain, there are a variety of opportunities with the Met Office.

Take a look at the adverts on our vacancies page to find out more about the placements available, how to apply and the closing date for getting your application submitted in time.

Work Experience

Anyone aged between 14 and 17 can come and spend a week with us to get a better understanding of what we do – much more than the weather forecasts you see on the television. Through group work, attending seminars and completing projects, our work experience programme offers a glimpse of what it is like to work for a large, world-leading organisation. It will also help with career plans and how what is learnt at school is used in the workplace.

Applications are online and as this programme is popular, it’s best that those interested take time when completing an application.

Due to current Covid related restrictions we do not anticipate running the work experience programme in 2021, but hope to do so in the summer of 2022.

Apprentices

We currently have apprentices in various professions across the organisation including Technology, Human Resources, Engineering and Legal Services. These range from Level 3 to Level 6 programmes and offer a fantastic chance to work whilst learning and gaining a qualification.

Some examples of the programmes we have offered recently include:

Level 6 Digital - This 4-year apprenticeship programme offers the opportunity to gain industry experience, develop a career in IT and obtain a BSc (Hons) in Digital and Technology Solutions course, taught by and awarded by the University of Exeter.

Open to those who satisfy the entry requirements set by the University of Exeter, these are typically having obtained AAB at A-Level or equivalent.

Level 3 Infrastructure – 18-month programme covering a range of IT services, supporting the delivery of Met Office services both internally to our staff and externally to our customers. Apprentices gain SFIA Level 3 professional competence and eligibility to become a registered IT technician.

Open to those who hold a minimum of 5 GCSEs grades 9-4 or equivalent including English and Maths at grade 4 or above.

Level 3 Paralegal – 2-year programme with our in-house legal team covering contractual work, licensing of our intellectual property, regulatory work and research on specific topics.

Gaining a Level 3 Certificate in Law and Practice with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and potentially the Level 3 Diploma towards qualification as a Chartered Legal Executive, this programme is open to those who hold a minimum of 5 GCSEs grades 9-4 or equivalent including English and Maths at grade 4 or above and 2 A-Levels grade 4 or above (or equivalent). 

Industrial Placements

Our Industrial Placement scheme is a 12-month programme offering the opportunity to gain valuable industry experience.  Gaining hands on experience, placements will work in a team with experts in their field. This scheme has included placements in the Flood Forecasting Centre, Science, Technology, and our Property departments.

Open to those currently studying for an undergraduate degree (sandwich course) that incorporates a placement year. Each placement will provide information on any specific requirements such as degree discipline i.e. mechanical engineering or computer science.

The Met Office values the contribution made by industrial placements and therefore for those who complete the Technology Industrial Placement programme, there is the opportunity to return after obtaining your degree as a Technology Graduate.

Summer Placements

Our 10-week paid placements are the perfect opportunity to gain hands-on work experience over the summer and get a valuable insight into the amazing things we do at the Met Office.  There are a range of placement opportunities to suit different skills and interests including Forecasting, Science, Technology, Marketing, Finance and HR.

Opportunities are open to those who have recently graduated from university or finished their A Levels and those currently studying.

Graduates

Many have joined us at graduate level and from the moment you start, whichever area you work in, we invest in your learning and development to help you continue your personal development.

We don’t restrict ourselves to a one-size-fits-all graduate scheme because we like to give you freedom of choice when it comes to the area that you’re interested in. We offer graduate level opportunities across the organisation, such as Foundation Scientist, but also programmes like our our Operational Meteorologist Foundation Course (OMFC), Business Group Graduate and Technology Graduate schemes.

Wherever your skills lie, we’ve a wide range of opportunities for graduates. Have a look at our vacancies to find out more.

Doctoral Training

The Met Office participates in the doctoral training of students to help to train the next generation of weather and climate scientists. Students working with the Met Office have the opportunity to work with leading weather and climate scientists to do Science with impact, where improved understanding or modelling may eventually be used in future climate projections or weather forecasts. Over the past decade, more than 60 PhD or DPhil students have completed their doctorate having been supported by the Met Office on a wide range of projects, reflecting the breadth of research the Met Office undertakes. Past projects have ranged from tackling the mathematics of modelling the atmosphere on different types of grid, to improving our understanding of physical processes in our atmosphere and how weather and climate impact people, infrastructure and resources.

The Met Office supports a number of doctoral studentships with key universities in the UK. We are partners in nine NERC Doctoral Training Programmes and three EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training.

For prospective doctoral studentships, please use Find a PhD to find research projects which feature the Met Office as a partner.