BRE’s graduate programme

Take your career to the next level with Elevate, BRE’s fast-track graduate programme.

 

If you want to become a subject specialist and join a world-leader pushing for sustainability in the built environment, this is the graduate programme for you. You’ll have the opportunity to be coached, developed and supported on your path to becoming an expert in your field.

You will spend your first nine months working in your home role. You will also have the option of completing two skills development placements at three months each, where these are intended to upskill you in pre-identified areas, followed by your final nine months back in your home role, working on an exciting project and presentation, to showcase your expertise.

Benefits of the BRE graduate programme

  • Become a subject matter specialist within the role.
  • Receive coaching from an experienced BRE Colleague
  • Receive mentoring from a business leader
  • Join group coaching sessions
  • Attend development workshops with excellent facilitators
  • Deliver a project and pitch to senior leaders and member of the executive team

Coming soon: 2024 graduate programme.

Hear from our 2020 Graduates

I joined the BRE graduate scheme having completed a masters in Sustainable Urbanism as I felt my background and interest in sustainable built environments was very well aligned with BRE’s area of expertise. The scheme is a great transition into the workplace, providing opportunities to learn and develop both in your specific areas of interest as well as in terms of broader workplace skills. Through the placement rotations, mentor scheme and contact with senior colleagues, it also provides a strong network of contacts throughout the business.

My first placement has been in the Housing and Health team. This has involved working on a number of client projects, providing local authorities with insights including the condition and energy efficiency of their housing stock and the health implications of this. It is particularly rewarding to receive positive feedback from local authorities describing how they plan to use this insight to improve the local housing stock. I have also been involved in internal development, including work on the team’s HSCD tool, which will help provide a better experience to clients in the future.

Despite not yet working on site due the COVID-19 situation, there have also been plenty of opportunities to interact with fellow graduates and colleagues both through work projects and social events, and to complete online training and development modules. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed the graduate scheme so far and have been made to feel very welcome at BRE!

The graduate scheme at BRE seemed a great opportunity to work on practical solutions for creating a sustainable built environment and in my first six months I have been able to do just that. Whilst on placement in the Strategic Advisory team I have contributed to projects on a variety of topics such as circular economy, biophilic design, CaliBRE and LCA (life-cycle assessment). One highlight of the graduate scheme so far has been the ability to collaborate with people across the organisation and explore different areas of the business.

Starting a new job remotely has certainly been an interesting experience however weekly catch ups with team members and the other graduates has certainly helped to create a sociable office feel at home. The support received from mentors, managers and everyone else has been valuable in creating a good (virtual) work environment.

I chose the BRE graduate scheme so I could be a part of an organisation tackling many of today’s most pressing global issues.

My first graduate placement at BRE has seen me split my time between BREEAM Operations and SmartSite. Having graduated University with a Chemistry background, this has provided a change of scenery for me.

As a result of this joint placement, I have developed a fresh set of skills. The most prominent of these include data analysis, effectively engaging stakeholders during project delivery, communicating with customers, and delivering technical support for online software: the experience has been diverse.

While my early experiences at BRE have been business operations-focussed, BRE delivers an expanse of products and services, meaning there are many opportunities for graduates to develop technical knowledge within the built environment, on top of their professional skillsets.

Working alongside knowledgeable, enthusiastic teams has provided not only insight, but just as importantly, a more than pleasant ‘workplace’ environment. The definition of ‘going to work’ has been reworded for a huge number of us, but BRE have done all that they can to seamlessly integrate their new staff into the business remotely, and make us feel welcome and empowered.

September 2020 was an interesting time to start a new role but everyone at BRE was so welcoming that I quickly managed to get stuck into my first placement despite it being entirely virtual.

I am currently working in the BREEAM Digital Applications team where I will be for both my first and second placements. From this position, I’ve been able to learn a lot about one of BRE’s main products, BREEAM. From the start, I was able to get heavily involved in the development of new functionality, such as the online implementation of the BREEAM in Use Residential scheme.

During my Engineering degree, I discovered an interest in sustainability in the built environment and the graduate scheme at BRE has been a great place to explore this further.

Hear from our 2019 Graduates

I have always been passionate about sustainability, and upon graduating I knew I wanted to start my career in an organisation that shared my passion and values. When I came across BRE in my research, I was excited by their ambitions to create a more sustainable built environment.

My time on the graduate scheme at BRE has given me the opportunity to work in a diverse range of business areas and gain a holistic understanding of how the business works. I have been fortunate enough to work across both technical and corporate business functions, which has been invaluable in developing numerous skills.

My first placement was with SmartSite, where I had the opportunity to work in technical support and assist with product development, whilst simultaneously working on a research project on ESG.

My second placement was in Marketing and Communications. My work in this placement allowed me to gain a broad insight into what we have to offer at BRE. Furthermore, I gained experience in social media management and creating content for the BREEAM website.

I have just completed my third placement, with BREEAM, where I was given a data analysis project with the purpose to assess the performance BREEAM credits. I also had the opportunity to carry out market research, which was a fantastic opportunity to gain an understanding of where BRE sits in the marketplace.

BRE is a great place to start your career. The culture is very friendly, supportive, and collaborative. You will have access to a mentor and a buddy to help guide you through your time on the graduate scheme, as well as access to a community of colleagues willing to help.

I am in the second year of the BRE graduate scheme. It caught my interest primarily because of it’s focus on sustainability. As I’ve learnt more about BRE and eventually started the graduate scheme, I’ve found that BRE certain do have a sharp focus on sustainability and finding solutions to some of the modern sustainability challenges which I’ve relished learning about.

I’ve had lots of opportunities to get involved in interesting projects and I’ve had support from a range of colleagues, whether that has been within my own teams or from different areas of the business. The sociable company culture has proven to be a great fit for me as well, with plenty going on around site to get involved with, from lunchtime table tennis to after work trips to the gym. Working from home has put a stop to those activities, although keeping in touch with people virtually has been easy enough, through working on projects together or arranging regular catch ups just for the sake of having a chat.’

I am in my second and final year of the graduate scheme. My reason for applying to BRE came from my focus and desire to work in sustainability and climate change related topics after finishing my Masters.  The built environment and its impact on the global climate was something I didn’t know much about so when I learnt more about it, BRE seemed like the perfect place to apply for.  The diversity in opportunities available to graduates is great and I gained experience across a number of areas within the business through projects in my placements and through other opportunities available to you when you work for BRE. The fluidity of the graduate scheme across the different departments of BRE has given me a whole mix of new and different experiences and opportunities to learn, in a relatively short amount of time.

Pre-lockdown, working on site was a very social experience, with sports and music facilities available to use allowing you to meet more and more people across the business in a less formal manner through football, tennis, gym classes and more. Working from home was a big change, something that has its ups and downs.  Using Microsoft Teams along with the efforts of others in BRE has made things easier, allowing us to stay in touch and maintain relationships, while also making the shift from office to remote working relatively seamless in terms having access to the necessary services to complete our projects and day to day tasks.