Finding a job
Graduate schemes in this sector are usually found within large energy and infrastructure firms and environmental consultancies such as AECOM, Shell and RSK, Arcadis, Mott Macdonald and WSP.
99% of UK labour market is predominantly made up of small and medium enterprises (House of Commons Library Business Statistics December 2022) and although employers in this sector recruit graduates they are not so likely to run graduate schemes. For this reason, for a graduate looking to work in this sector, it is important to conduct thorough research, using the resources in this guide, to gain an understanding of the types of organisation recruiting in the sector, which job sites are the most appropriate to use and which resources to use for speculative job hunting.
Who recruits environmental graduates?
- Environmental consultancies
- Public sector bodies/organisations
- Charitable and not-for-profit organisations
- Government bodies
- Educational institutions
- Research organisations
Useful websites to start your job search
Below you will find a wealth of specialist job sites to help you locate suitable opportunities in the environmental sector:
Additional job sites by type
- ADAS
- Arcadis
- ENDS - Environmental Data Services (ENDS) provide intelligence on environmental affairs. Includes a consultancy directory and job search
- Wood PLC
- ER
- Golder Associates
- Mott MacDonald
- Arup
- Ricardo
- Royal Haskoning DHV
- RPS
- RSK
- Stantec
- WRc International
- WSP
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
- Environment Agency (EA)
- The Forestry Commission
- The Guardian - advertises Civil Service and local government jobs
- Jobs.ac.uk - for jobs in academia
- Jobsgopublic - contains vacancies in the public and not-for-profit sectors
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee - advises the UK Government on nature conservation
- Local Government Association
- Local Government Jobs
- Marine Management Organisation
- National Graduate Development Programme for Local Government
- National Parks
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust
- Blue Marine Foundation
- The Conservation Volunteers
- Field Studies Council
- Friends of the Earth
- Forestry Stewardship Council -
- Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust -
- Greenpeace
- Groundwork
- Marine Conservation Society
- The National Trust -
- Natural England
- Naturenet
- Plantlife
- RSPB
- The Soil Association
- The Woodland Trust
- World Wide Fund for Nature
- The Wildlife Trusts
- Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
- Wildlife and Countryside Link
- World Land Trust
Graduate Schemes
Check the following links for graduate scheme opportunities:
Speculative applications
Sometimes work opportunities are not specifically advertised. Many employers (often small charities) don’t have big budgets for advertising, so their opportunities therefore don’t get promoted widely. However you can be proactive and make direct contact with organisations that interest you and apply speculatively. The following resources may help you identify companies to target as part of this approach:
- ENDS Directory - list of over 1000 top environmental consultants and suppliers and you can select them by area/specialism
- Green Directory - comprehensive directory of businesses in the UK who specialise in providing environmentally friendly goods and services
Find out more about the speculative approach to job searching
Recruitment agencies
Recruitment consultants work with individuals to help them find suitable work to match their skills. Agency Central is the UK's leading recruitment agency directory. An advanced search and filter system finds the agencies which match your needs.
Are you looking for a role in Hampshire? Our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy can help!
If you're in the final year of your degree, you can register for support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy. They work with over 3,000 employers in the local area to place our students into fantastic graduate careers.
