Best companies for graduate jobs and early careers (2026)

When it comes to early careers talent, many assume that training schemes, development opportunities and clear career progression pathways are what resonates — but that’s not always what this audience is actually looking for.

Flexa data shows that early careers talent is drawn to:

• Salary. It’s the role criteria that users select the most, chosen by 59.5% of early careers talent in the first half of 2026. The second most-popular was work-life balance at 49.5%.
• Time flexibility and location flexibility were more popular with early careers talent than career progression or learning and development in the first half of 2026.
• Office perks. Early careers talent is 116% more likely to choose this benefit than the average Flexa user, according to data from April 2026.
• High performance and results-driven cultures. In August 2026, early careers users were 90% more likely to pick this preference. 

Which are the best early careers employers?

Flexa verifies the claims made by employers, so instead of rounding up a list of companies that just say they’re great for early careers talent, we actually validate this with the people who work there. 

That’s why you can trust our compilation of the best companies for early careers: it’s grounded in verified data, and backed up by employee survey results showing they offer what they say they do.

The best companies for early careers and graduates in 2026

United Utilities

United Utilities delivers one of life's most essential services to millions of people across the North West. They pride themselves on providing structured early careers pathways through graduate programmes and apprenticeships. These roles offer hands-on experience, training and support to help early-career talent build skills, confidence and meaningful careers from the outset.

Opportunities include:

• Apprenticeship programmes across a range of levels
• Graduate roles across project management, engineering, quantity surveying, finance, and leadership
• Internships that run between eight weeks and 12 months
• Work experience programmes

Accenture

Accenture is inviting thinkers, doers and innovators to reinvent industries, businesses, organisations. Whether you're just beginning your journey or bringing years of expertise, Accenture offers opportunities to future-proof and enhance your skills, collaborate with brilliant minds across the globe, and share what's next

What Accenture offers graduates and early careers:

• Graduate programmes with specific pathways to help shape your career in strategy and consulting, technology, and operations
• Summer internships and industrial placement opportunities for students
• Apprenticeship programmes focused on technology or consulting

EY UK

EY's purpose is building a better working world. The insights and services they provide help to create long-term value for clients, people and society, and to build trust in the capital markets.

85% of employees think EY UK is a good fit for people early on in their careers, and 70% feel career progression is a priority there.

What EY offers graduates and early careers:

• One of the UK's largest and most established graduate and school leaver programmes, covering audit, consulting, technology and more
• Structured training towards professional qualifications including ACA, ACCA and other accreditations, with study support provided
• Hybrid and flexible working available from the start, with offices across the UK reducing the need to relocate
• Strong internal mobility with clear pathways from graduate to manager and beyond

BT Group

BT Group is one of the UK’s leading telecommunications and network providers, made up of trusted brands including BT, EE, Openreach, and Plusnet.

What BT Group graduates and early careers:

• Graduate, apprenticeship and internship programmes across multiple disciplines including technology, data, engineering and business
• Hybrid working available from the start, with offices and sites across the UK
• Structured development plans with regular check-ins and mentorship from senior colleagues
• A large, diverse workforce offering broad internal mobility as a career develops

Mondelēz International

At Mondelēz International, their purpose is to empower people to snack right. They will lead the future of snacking around the world by offering the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way.

What Mondelez offers graduates and early careers:

• Global graduate leadership programmes designed to accelerate development across business functions
• Early responsibility with exposure to real commercial challenges and cross-functional teams
• Presence in over 150 countries offering international career opportunities for ambitious graduates

You can hear from graduates and early career professionals here.

Tesco

Tesco employs 330,000+ employees across 11 markets and has recorded group sales of £62.8bn. They give their colleagues the tools to shape their own future with a career path that meets their own personal goals and aspirations.

What Tesco offers graduates and early careers:

• Structured graduate schemes with rotational placements across different business areas
• Access to learning and development platforms and mentorship from senior leaders
• Opportunities to work on programmes that affect millions of customers, giving graduates real scale and impact from early in their career

Maersk

With over 100,000 employees across 130 countries Maersk is a global leader in logistics services and can offer you the opportunity to grow and evolve in a truly diverse workplace.

Maersk’s learning and development opportunities were rated 75/100 by employees. They also offer graduates and early careers:

• Exposure to global supply chain operations at a scale few other employers can offer
• A diverse workplace with colleagues from across the world
• Structured learning with defined milestones and progression checkpoints
• Hands-on experience, deep industry insights, and exposure to global trends like digital transformation, data-driven decision-making, and sustainability.

Airbus

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2020, it generated revenues of €49.9 billion and employed a workforce of around 150,000.

91% of Airbus employees think Airbus is a good fit for people early on in their careers — and the same number feel they have a good work-life balance.

What Airbus offers graduates and early careers:

• Highly regarded graduate and apprenticeship schemes across aeronautical engineering, systems engineering, software and business functions
• Investment in professional engineering qualifications and accreditation
• Exposure to some of the most technically complex and ambitious projects in the world

NFU Mutual

NFU Mutual are a leading provider of General Insurance that also offer a variety of Financial Planning Services.

90% of employees think NFU Mutual is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What NFU Mutual offers graduates:

• Graduate programmes with structured rotations across business functions
• Support towards professional qualifications in insurance and financial services
• Hybrid and flexible working available across head office and regional roles

Virgin Media O2

Virgin Media O2 are an award-winning fibre broadband provider & telecommunications company. They manage 47 million UK connections across broadband, mobile, TV and home phone and have around 18,000 colleagues.

What Virgin Media O2 offers graduates and early careers:

• Graduate programmes and apprenticeships across technology, data, commercial and customer experience
• Hybrid working with flexibility built in from the start, not earned over time
• A fast-paced, innovation-led environment where graduates work on products used by millions of people

NHBC

NHBC is the UK's leading provider of warranty and insurance for new-build homes. Their purpose is to raise standards in house building by championing high-quality homes and protecting homeowners. 

78% of employees think NHBC is a good fit for people early on in their careers, and the learning and development opportunities were rated 76/100 by employees.

What NHBC offers graduates and early careers:

• Graduate programmes with structured training and support towards professional qualifications.
• The NHBC Business Graduate programme has a starting salary of £27,500 and is a fully funded two-year training and development programme. Graduates rotate every six months into new key business areas to learn about the business and gain invaluable experience.
• A mission-driven organisation focused on raising standards in housebuilding, giving graduates meaningful work from the start
• Hybrid and flexible working available across roles
• A collaborative culture with strong peer networks and manager support

Northern

Northern connect tens of thousands of people in the North of England to work, leisure, education and more every day.

82% of employees think Northern is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What Northern offers graduates:

• An opportunity to earn while you learn in their Apprenticeship roles, gain invaluable real-world experience through their Year In Industry placements, or fast track your future with their 24-month Graduate Scheme. 
• Graduate schemes with hands-on experience in rail operations and infrastructure
• Clear progression paths in a regulated, safety-critical industry with strong job security

OVO

OVO launched in 2009 with a belief that energy could be better. Since then they’ve welcomed over four million members, planted 5 million trees and set their sights on helping to save the planet. In 2019 they launched
Plan Zero - their sustainability plan.

What OVO offers graduates and early careers:

• A mission-driven culture that attracts graduates who want their work to have a real environmental impact
• Flexible and remote-friendly working culture with a focus on output over hours
• Exposure to fast-moving, high-growth business challenges from early in your career
• Learning and development investment with access to internal and external resources

Mars UK and Mars France

For more than a century, Mars has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the centre of who they have always been as a global, family-owned business.

95% of employees think Mars is a good fit for people early on in their careers, 86% feel career progression is a priority, and their learning and development opportunities were rated 88/100 by employees.

What Mars offers graduates and early careers:

• The Mars Graduate Programme is one of the most recognised FMCG graduate schemes, with rotations across business functions
• Real responsibility from day one, with graduates leading their own projects within their first year
• In the UK, Mars have a number of leadership graduate programmes covering industries such as engineering, procurement, finance and R&D.

Mott MacDonald

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy. Everywhere around the world, people’s needs and aspirations are changing, fast.

83% of employees think Mott MacDonald is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What Mott MacDonald offers graduates and early careers:

• A structured graduate development programme with support towards chartered engineer status
• A collaborative culture with strong mentorship from experienced engineers and consultants
• Global project exposure giving graduates the chance to work on infrastructure that shapes communities

BAE Systems

BAE Systems provides some of the world’s most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions and employ a skilled workforce of 107,000 people in more than 40 countries.

What BAE Systems offers graduates and early careers:

• A large and well-established graduate programme across engineering, technology, commercial and corporate functions
• Support towards professional engineering qualifications and chartership
• One of the most recognised names in defence and aerospace, providing strong career foundations for engineers and technologists

Veramed

Veramed is a customer-driven Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) that provides high quality biostatistics and programming services for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

99% of employees think Veramed is a good fit for people early on in their careers, 81% feel career progression is a priority, and the learning and development opportunities were rated 87/100 by employees.

What Veramed offers graduates and early careers:

• Graduate roles in a specialised and growing field with significant demand for talent
• Mentorship from experienced clinicians and statisticians from the start
• A smaller, close-knit team environment where graduates get visibility and real responsibility quickly

TUI Group

TUI Group is a leading global travel and leisure company, with 1,200 travel agencies, around 130 planes, over 400 hotels, 16 cruise liners, various digital platforms for leisure activities, and a team of over 60,000 talented colleagues worldwide.

What TUI offers graduates and early careers:

• Graduate schemes with exposure to one of the world's largest travel businesses
• International placement opportunities across TUI's global network
• Flexible and hybrid working available in corporate and office-based functions
• A purpose-led culture with a focus on sustainability alongside commercial growth

HEINEKEN UK

As the UK’s leading beer, cider and pub business, HEINEKEN UK is home to some of the world’s best-loved beers and ciders, and a leading player in the international drinks industry.

What HEINEKEN UK offers graduates and early careers:

• Local and global graduate programmes covering the likes of commercial, supply chain and finance
• Real responsibility from early on, with graduates working on brands sold across the UK and globally
• Flexible and hybrid working available across office-based roles
• Strong inclusion networks and a culture that invests in long-term career development

Anglian Water Services

Anglian Water Services are building a more resilient future. By 2030, they will have prepared two new reservoirs for construction, and their extended strategic pipeline will ensure the region stays resilient to drought.

79% of employees think Anglian Water Services is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What Anglian Water Services offers graduates and early careers:

• A structured graduate programme with rotations across business areas and support towards professional qualifications
• Work with genuine environmental and social impact, including major infrastructure investment programmes
• Flexible working available across appropriate roles
• A values-led organisation with a strong focus on sustainability and community

Vodafone

Vodafone is a leading international Telco serving 300 million customers. Their strong belief is that connectivity is a force for good. If we use it for the things that really matter, it can improve people's lives and the world around us.

87% of employees think Vodafone is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What Vodafone offers graduates and early careers:

• The Vodafone Graduate Programme, with rotations across different business areas and global exposure
• Flexible and hybrid working embedded across the organisation
• A technology-first culture giving graduates exposure to 5G, IoT and digital transformation at scale
• International career opportunities across Vodafone's global markets

SAP

A market leader in enterprise software, SAP turns businesses into intelligent, sustainable enterprises.

What SAP offers graduates:

• World-class graduate programs across product, engineering, customer success, finance and more.
• Access to world-class technology and training resources alongside structured mentorship
• A global business with strong internal mobility and career development pathways

Goodlord

Goodlord's mission is to make the best renting experience in the world. Their aim is to remove the complications of the rental process by eliminating the inefficiencies in the process. 

77% of employees think Goodlord is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What Goodlord offers graduates and early careers:

• A fast-growing scale-up environment where graduates take on real ownership and responsibility quickly
• Flexible and hybrid working culture with a strong focus on output and autonomy
• A smaller team setting where early career hires get direct access to leadership and genuine mentorship
• Exposure to the full business rather than being siloed into one function

MBDA

As a leading company in the defence industry, MBDA delivers essential military capabilities for each branch of the Armed Forces - with specific expertise in missiles and missile systems.

84% of employees think MBDA is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What MBDA offers graduates and early careers:

• Highly technical and complex work giving graduates genuine intellectual challenge from day one
• Flexible working available in office-based and non-operational roles
• A stable, established employer with strong job security and long-term career development

Amplifi

Amplifi is a specialist consultancy providing Advisory, Delivery and Support services for data management, data governance and data quality. They are driven by business outcome and long-term success for their clients.

88% of employees think Amplifi is a good fit for people early on in their careers, 79% feel career progression is a priority, and the learning and development opportunities were rated 80/100 by employees.

Zoonou

Zoonou is a trusted digital services partner specialising in quality assurance (QA) and software testing. Working across strategy, test execution, and delivery, they help their clients to create better services, products, and outcomes.

84% of employees think Zoonou is a good fit for people early on in their careers.

What to look for in a graduate employer

Not every company that advertises a graduate scheme delivers on it. Here is what separates the best graduate employers from the rest:

• Structured onboarding: a proper induction process, not just being handed a laptop and a to-do list
• Rotational or development programmes: the chance to experience different parts of the business before choosing a specialism
• Mentorship and coaching: access to senior colleagues who invest time in your growth
• Clear progression paths: transparent criteria for promotion and pay increases, not vague promises
• Learning and development budget: financial support for qualifications, courses or professional accreditation
• Flexible working: hybrid, flexi-hours or remote options that do not require years of service to access
• Early responsibility: real work with real impact, not just shadowing and admin

When comparing graduate employers, ask specifically what the first 12 months look like, who you will be learning from, and what the path to your first promotion looks like.