Graduate Opportunities

Operations Management Graduate Scheme

Start date; September annually and applications usually open October / November the year before.

This a unique and fun graduate programme. Working within our fast paced operational and specialist teams, you’ll gain extensive company wide experience, developing your technical and management skills across 5 rotational field-based placements and 4 hybrid / office central services placements.

Your training journey will take you into placements based in the field across Grounds Maintenance, Winter Maintenance, Arboriculture - Rail, Utility - Arboriculture and Landscape Construction as well as hybrid / office-based placements in our Business Development, Client Services, Finance and People teams.

This comprehensive programme will allow you to get a full operational understanding of our fast-growing business throughout your first 18 months in the business. At the end of the programme you will be placed as an Assistant Manager into one of our operational teams.

Direct entry graduate roles

Throughout the year we have graduate opportunities that arise on a job-by-job basis due to promotion or expansion. This year’s opportunities have covered the areas below but this does depend on the needs of the business.

• Ecology
• Quantity Surveying
• Marketing
• Environmental
• Estimating

Connect with us under Early Careers and you will be sent any new roles as they go live.

Apprenticeships

Join our apprenticeship programme to learn new skills, gain accredited qualifications and take your first step in a career that cares for the environment.

We recruit throughout the year for apprentices so always check our Job Openings section below and search under Early Careers for any live vacancies in your area.

How it works:

• All Apprenticeships last between 18-24 months and during this time you will work approximately 4 days a week and either attend college or complete online sessions / assignments for 1 day a week depending on your course
• We will pay for all your expenses around your college course and you will also benefit from the support and training from the team you are working with.

We offer the following apprenticeships;

Horticulture Operative, level 2

This apprenticeship focuses on our Grounds maintenance team and includes the establishment and maintenance of plants and cultivated areas. Horticulture focuses on plant propagation and plant growth. Work is generally based outside and undertaken throughout the year, so apprentices will frequently work outside in all weathers.

Apprentices will start in a ‘hands-on’ role covering a range of practical tasks, with specialist skills being learnt through progression. A wide range of machinery and tools are used and additional training may be required depending on the nature of the works undertaken.

Arborist, level 2

The work of an Arborist (tree surgeon) involves diverse activities such as chainsaw work, aerial tree work, pruning, dismantling and using appropriate machinery such as brushwood chippers. An Arborist will undertake aerial tree work but may also be ground-based.

At Ground Control, we have 2 teams that offer this apprenticeship working on both tree works on the railways and also tree works around power lines, cable and pylons.

Business Administrator, level 2 & 3 – office based

This apprenticeship could be based in any of our office-based teams including HR, Operations or Client Services. It covers a whole range of office skills including IT, document production, decision making, planning and organisation and project management and is a great start point for an office based career to develop from in the future.

Work experience and industry insights

We are always eager to help with work experience if we are able to but this has become harder to accommodate as many of our roles are remote or hybrid working.

As an alternative, we offer virtual industry insight sessions in many areas across the business. This would involve an arranged Teams meeting for you to meet an industry expert in your preferred area and to find out more about their role and what a career in their area looks like.

Industry insights could be for our operational teams across Horticulture, Arboriculture, Landscape Construction and Ecology or more focused on professional services areas like HR, Finance, IT, Environmental, Quantity Surveying and Estimating.

Want to find out more about any of our Early Careers opportunities?

Send an email to our friendly Talent team and they will contact you with more information!

Just email: talent@ground-control.co.uk