Scheme overview

On the Abellio Graduate Leadership Development scheme you will participate in a leadership development programme while also gaining hands-on business experience in different departments within a range of Abellio operated companies, working with people at all levels and backgrounds – from directors to front line colleagues, and of course, our customers. The development programme can be tailored for engineering and general management.

About Abellio

Abellio operates public transport contracts in Europe, while working in partnership every day to consistently exceed passengers’ and stakeholders’ expectations. 175 years of experience has embedded in Abellio a social duty to passengers which extends beyond the journey on one of our trains, trams or buses. The passenger is at the heart of everything we do. ​The delivery of safe, reliable and comfortable services is the starting point for every transport provider, but that is not enough for Abellio. Our services must play an integrated role in the socio-economic development of the societies we serve. 

​​​Every day over 14,000 Abellio people provide safe, easy and reliable public transport for more than a million passengers on our services. Our operations span three countries including UK, Germany and the Netherlands, across bus, tram and train services.

In the UK we operate buses through Abellio London & Surrey, as well as train services for ScotRail, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and West Midlands rail networks

We challenge the traditional conventions of travel so that we can provide better quality, safer, more convenient transport services that genuinely benefit our clients and customers, and we do it the Abellio Way - Genuine, Professional, Proactive, Inclusive. Our success is a reflection of our unique way of doing business and the Abellio Way provides a common and collaborative way of working with our clients, stakeholders, and each other.

Abellio: Beyond a-to-b.

Graduate Leadership Development Programme

The Abellio Graduate Leadership Development Programme starts in September 2019. Within that time you will participate in our development programme that will enable you to develop your skills in the areas of operational management, decision making, project management, finance, managing people and various other topics that will put you on the development path of becoming a leader of people and business.

You will also be exposed to a variety of roles across our businesses, gaining a strong mixture of practical and theoretical knowledge, and working with people at all levels - from Directors to frontline staff. Your on-the-job learning will be complemented by completing a range of inductions across the whole business, attending leadership development workshops, various skills training courses, receiving coaching and mentoring throughout the programme from senior members of staff. You will gain experience in key areas of transport operations and build an understanding of the business, its strategy, its environment, and its stakeholders. You will also have the opportunity to meet other graduates and colleagues from our European parent and sister companies and you will be supported to develop the values and behaviours of the Abellio Way and become a member of the Abellio family.

Programme design

During the first year of the programme you will commence our enhanced leadership development programme (ILM qualification) in the form of courses, mentoring and coaching. During this period you will be assigned to 3 different placements, in any of our UK companies. The rotation of placements will allow you to gain as much exposure as possible to different areas of our rail and bus businesses. There will be an emphasis on giving you exposure to front line manager roles.

Your placements could be at any of our companies. This means that you will be required to be highly flexible including the need to live and work away from home for some or all of the placements. Current locations include London and the south east, Merseyside, the Midlands and Scotland.

After the successful completion of the first year you will continue participating in the leadership development programme, and also be assigned to one of our businesses in a front line management role for a 12 months period.

At the end of the programme you will be placed in a management grade role in one of our businesses. Your skills, interest and strength will be taken into account when identifying your first role.

Graduate Profile

We are offering places on this scheme for graduates who have long term interest in the transport industry and desire to make a real difference for our customers completed their degree in any discipline, or will graduate in 2018 and attained or be on track to achieve a minimum 2:1 Bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

As our ideal candidate, you will be a pro-active team player, keen to learn, genuine and ambitious, with a why-not and a positive yes-we-can attitude. Some work experience or placements would be beneficial, but most of all you should approach your work with enthusiasm, ownership and high level of energy. This should be done without bias to the nature of work or topic as you may also be asked to support various administrative processes and tasks, be expected to get involved and get ‘your hands dirty’, particularly during peak times. You should be a creative problem-solver, highly proactive and enjoy making things happen. You must have outstanding communication and interpersonal skills and be able to build positive and highly effective relationships at all levels and with people from all backgrounds.

Your duties and responsibilities within each placement will vary, and trainees will be given a clear and deliverable role or project with a developmental element and provide hands on business experience. You will receive regular support and supervision from your placement line manager and mentoring from a senior leader. You are however expected to be proactive and take ownership of your own development and learning as well as the tasks and projects assigned to you, and be accountable for their successful completion.

Selection process

Graduate trainee places are highly competitive so we have a number of selection events planned. After a number of initial online assessments between November and January, a face to in face interview will follow in February and we’ll conclude the process with an assessment centre in March. Successful candidates will be notified by April.

• Programme Start date: September 2019
• Length: 1 year placement rotations + leadership development programme, continuing in year 2 with a year long placement in a front line management role
• Salary: Highly Competitive Salary and a wide range of benefits (see below)
• Location: Various UK
• Degree: minimum 2:1 Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
• Closing date for applications: 30 November 2018. Please note that due to high level of applications we may close the vacancy earlier, therefore we would advise all interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Your reward package

• Leadership Development programme and industry related skills training
• Mentoring from a senior manager /director
• Coaching from a qualified coach
• Highly Competitive Salary
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays, per annum
• Pension scheme with generous employer contribution, Life assurance, travel pass or season ticket loan, medical insurance, health cash plan, annual health checks and other wellbeing schemes, various discount schemes, tax saving benefits and many more
• Networking with other grads and Abellio team members at all levels
• Opportunity to have an input in the following years’ graduate scheme (if you want)