Opportunity | Details

Organisation: COWI

Type: Work & Jobs, Apprenticeships, Training & Experience

Sector: Energy/ Water/ Sustainability, Engineering/ Manufacturing

Ref:

COWI000001

COWI Career Opportunities for Care Experienced Young People

Summary: COWI offers care-experienced young people in London mentoring, a paid internship and access to early careers opportunities.

Further Details:

Locations: London, EC2M

About COWI

‘Together, we shape a sustainable and liveable world’.

At COWI, we believe the work we do should make a positive difference to people and communities, both now and in the future.

We’re an international consultancy working across engineering, architecture, energy and the environment. In the UK, much of our work focuses on transport infrastructure and energy projects, helping to create places and services that people can rely on every day.

We want to help care-experienced young people explore careers in our industry, build confidence and skills, and take their next steps.

Starting your career at COWI

We want COWI to be a supportive and welcoming place to start your career. We value different perspectives and believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn, develop and make the most of their potential.

Our early careers programme gives young people the chance to work on a range of projects, build their skills and gain experience in their chosen field. We also provide support and mentoring, including support towards professional qualifications where relevant.

Our Early Careers Network brings together people at the start of their careers to share experiences, learn from each other and build connections. It is led by our early-career colleagues and provides a friendly space to ask questions and learn more about life at COWI.

Our offer to care-experienced young people

Our offer includes a mentoring and paid internship opportunity through Career Ready, as well as access to our early careers vacancies across COWI.

Career Ready is a charity that supports young people to prepare for the world of work. Its programme connects you with a mentor, provides workplace experience and helps you develop your skills through masterclasses and other activities. You can also build your professional network and stay connected through its alumni network. To find out more, visit Career Ready.

We’re committed to making our opportunities accessible and welcoming. If you have questions about starting a career with COWI, we’d love to hear from you.

Mentoring

We have an opportunity starting in the 2026 – 2027 academic year in London, delivered in partnership with Career Ready. The programme includes regular mentoring with a COWI colleague and a four-week paid internship with COWI over the summer of 2027.

What’s involved

Monthly meetings with your COWI mentor
A four week paid summer internship at COWI
Six masterclasses delivered throughout the programme
Opportunities to learn more about the workplace and build your professional network
Joining the Career Ready alumni network

Eligibility

16-18 year old students attending a Career Ready partner school or college in London [insert image]
Ability to attend our office near Spitalfields Market for your four week internship

Early Careers Opportunities

There are a range of ways to start your career with COWI, including apprenticeships, graduate roles and summer internships across engineering, infrastructure and energy.

You can find our current early careers vacancies on the COWI vacancies page.

You can also learn more about life at COWI and the projects we work on through our Step Inside COWI pages.

Applying

When you apply, we want to understand your skills, experience and interest in the role. You don’t need to submit a cover letter unless the vacancy asks you to. Your CV can include experience gained through education, work, volunteering or other activities.

We aim to make our recruitment process as fair and inclusive as possible. As part of this, you don’t need to include a photo on your CV.

What we’re looking for

There isn’t one type of person who works at COWI. We value people who are curious, willing to learn and enjoy working with others.

Some roles have specific qualification or experience requirements, which will be explained in the individual vacancy. For example:

Apprenticeships: A-levels or equivalent qualifications, depending on the apprenticeship
Graduate roles: A relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree, depending on the role
Summer internships: Usually, at least two years completed of a relevant degree

You don’t need to have your whole career planned out. If you’re interested in what we do and think a role could be right for you, we encourage you to explore the opportunity and apply.

How to apply

We usually advertise our Graduate Apprenticeship opportunities in February and March, and our Summer Internship and Graduate opportunities in October and November each year.

If you have questions about our opportunities or the application process, we’d be happy to help. Please contact Julie McCormack, Social Value Lead (jumc@cowi.com) for more information.