Graduate Development Scheme 2026

We’re looking for exceptional candidates to join our Met Office Graduate Development Scheme 2026.

The Met Office Graduate Development Scheme is an entry-level programme that provides opportunities for graduates to launch their career without the need for previous experience. The scheme lasts 12–24 months and includes a range of specialist guidance to help set graduates on a successful career path after college or university.

As a Graduate Trainee, the role may be suitable for hybrid working, where an employee works part of the week in the office and part from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement, and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

This opportunity is full-time, 37 hours per week. Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we'll do our best to establish a working pattern that suits everyone.

While this is a temporary position for up to two years, the scheme is designed to equip you with the skills, experience, and support needed to pursue a permanent role within the organisation.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your World of Expertise

The Graduate Development Scheme will consist of an extended Immersion induction period followed by a series of rotational placements typically 4-6 months in duration, equipping an individual for an exit role within the Met Office or within industry.

In addition to an immersive induction and specific rotational placements, graduates will have other available developmental opportunities from networking, focused off the job training, coaching and regular feedback. This is in line with our 70:20:10 learning model. Where 70% of the graduate’s time will be learning through experience, 20% will be through networking, working with others, feedback and coaching and 10% will be learning via formal opportunities such as off the job training. 

As a Met Office Graduate Trainee, you can expect to:

• Create and drive your own bespoke, rotational graduate development scheme to gain skills and experience for your first post and beyond.
• Take every opportunity to continually develop your capabilities across a broad range of skills before specialising in a chosen profession.
• Make the most of a framework that empowers you to take control of your development while collaborating with a wide, allocated support network.
• Be open to constructive feedback to help you reach your potential.
• Help shape the evolution of the graduate scheme by providing regular feedback on your experience.
• Role model the Met Office values.
• Enjoy continual learning, new opportunities, and being part of a motivated learning culture.

Why Join Us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving, and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We’re featured on their Best Workplaces in Tech 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their 54 Best Workplaces for Women 2023 list.

As a Graduate Trainee, your total reward package will be up to £40,524 annually, which includes:

• £28,600 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual leave starts at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays), rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after five years. You also have the option to buy or sell up to five days of annual leave per year.

Essential Criteria, Skills and Experience:

1. Show us how you bring the Met Office values to life in your everyday actions and decisions.

At the Met Office, our values shape everything we do. As part of our Graduate Scheme, you will demonstrate them across your placements. We want to understand how these values influence your decisions, your interactions, and the positive impact you’ve made. Please provide an example for each of the values listed below.

The five values are:

• We’re a force for good
• We’re experts by nature
• We live and breathe it
• We’re better together
• We keep evolving

We recommend 250–500 words for each response, but we appreciate that everyone expresses themselves differently. Focus on clearly presenting your experience and what you learned, quality matters more than quantity.

2. Show how you purposefully manage your own learning and growth.

A key part of the Graduate Scheme is taking ownership of your development. Share a time when you reflected on a success or setback and explain what you learned from it. In your response, describe how you’ve taken the initiative to learn, whether through formal training, mentoring, self-directed learning, or stepping outside your comfort zone.

We recommend 250–500 words for your response, but again, quality matters more than quantity.

3. Demonstrate how you communicate effectively and work collaboratively.

At the Met Office, we value diverse thinking and work to seek out different perspectives. Please share an example of how you build strong working relationships that contribute to team success.

We recommend 250–500 words for your response.

4. Tell us about a time when you demonstrated resilience and adapted during a period of change or uncertainty, and what you learned from it. (Lead Criteria)

Our Graduate Scheme involves rotating through different placements, so being adaptable, resilient, and able to manage change is key. We’d like to hear how you handled unexpected challenges, new ways of working, or shifting priorities. Most importantly, share what the experience taught you and how it’s helped you grow in your professional development.

We recommend up to 700 words for this response.

The panel may perform a preliminary sift of the lead criteria as indicated above.

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.

Closing date 16/11/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 02/12/2026. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

Using AI in your application

We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI. For more details, visit our approach to recruitment.

How we can help

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk.

If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

We understand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.

We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

Met Office Graduate Development Scheme Overview.docx