Frequently asked questions

I’m not an EU national and will need a work permit – can you help?
If we make you an offer we will help you obtain a work permit. Rolls-Royce is a global company and it's in our interests to have a range of people from different backgrounds. Some of our sites have areas of restricted access for non-UK nationals but we take this into account when filling vacancies and it is not a major obstacle to recruiting international candidates.

How much will I get paid?
If you 're joining the Professional Excellence programme, your starting salary will be £25,000. The salary for the Leadership Development programme is £27,500. If you're on an internship programme, the salary is a competitive rate, pro rata for the length of your internship.

How can I join Rolls-Royce if the graduate development programme isn't for me?
From time to time, we may have vacancies suitable for recent graduates that are for specific jobs. Also, we sometimes have vacancies for an intensive training scheme, a short programme focused on preparing you for a specific job role. Typically, salaries will be in the range of £22,000-£24,000. Such vacancies will be posted on our website in the Job Opportunities section.

I'm thinking of taking a year out after university. Can I delay my start with you?
We may be able to defer your offer, depending on our business plans and the reasons for you wanting to defer.

Will you pay my expenses if I come to an assessment centre?
Yes – we will reimburse any reasonable travelling expenses.

Do you offer financial sponsorship?
We don’t offer sponsorship throughout a degree education. Some of our interns who join us as graduate trainees get a final year bursary totalling £1,500.

How many holidays will I get?
Your annual entitlement is a minimum of 33 days a year, including 8 statutory days.

Will I get a company car?
If we were paid for the number of times we’ve heard this one – we’d be very well off indeed! No, you won’t get a company car starting as a trainee.

Will you support me if I want additional qualifications?
Rolls-Royce is very keen on professional development and many of our employees are supported through higher education. Any desire for further qualifications will be reviewed in the light of business need, individual requirements and career development.

What can I expect the dress code to be?
Depends on where you work. It varies from Rolls-Royce polo shirt workwear to more standard business dress.

After the training programme will I be guaranteed a job at Rolls-Royce?
You are employed as a full time employee from day one. It is very unlikely that a job would not be available at the end of your programme, but if that situation did arise, our normal re-deployment procedures would apply.

Do you take non-engineers on the engineering graduate programmes?
We take a small number of mathematicians and physicists and people from other scientific backgrounds on to our engineering programmes.

Will you help me relocate?
We offer information and guidance on local accommodation at most of our main sites, but no financial recompense.

Can you help me find somewhere to live?
Most of the main sites keep information on local accommodation. For summer interns, we usually make arrangements with the local college or university for reasonably priced very short term accommodation.

What is the closing date for applications?
We are not planning for a specific closing date. However, we fill vacancies as we find the right candidates, so some programmes will be full before others. An indication of the status of vacancies for each scheme is in our Apply section.

I applied last year, can I apply again?
There is no reason why you can’t apply again if you weren’t successful one year, as long as you can demonstrate that something significant within your application has changed.

What if I am on holiday during the interview dates?
We usually try to offer you an alternative, but depending on the status of vacancies, this is not always possible.

How long does the summer internship last?
Generally a 10 week period over the university summer break.

At what stage of my degree can I apply to do a summer internship?
We are looking for people in at least their second year of study.

Will you be visiting my university in the near future?
You can check this out by going to the Calendar section.

How many people are you recruiting this year?
We are looking to recruit around 160 graduates and 190 undergraduates for 2008.