OCU Group is the UK’s leading energy transition and utilities infrastructure services company, we are at the forefront of ensuring the critical services that we all rely on are ready for the UK’s renewable energy powered future. Our commitment is to innovate and deliver sustainability, while designing, building and maintaining these vital services for our clients’ customers.

With nearly 30 years of experience, OCU offers opportunities to work in vital sectors like energy, water, and telecommunications, giving young people the chance to make a real impact.

OCU’s growth is driven by innovation, such as acquiring new companies and introducing cutting-edge technology. With over 1,000 vehicles and a team of more than 2,500 people, OCU values hands-on learning and teamwork, creating a supportive environment for anyone starting their career.

OCU is focused on new exciting areas like energy transition and low-carbon technology, offering young professionals a path to grow in industries shaping the future. OCU’s diverse projects and strong backing make it an ideal place to develop skills, gain experience, and build a long-term career.

We pride ourselves on a ‘People First’ culture, guided by our 6 core values:

1. We Care about Safety – Our goal is for everyone to return home healthy and safe each day
2. We Lead with Integrity – Integrity is central to our relationships and our strong industry reputation.
3. We Strive to be Better Every Day – We take pride in our meticulous approach, aiming for continuous improvement.
4. We Make a Positive Impact – We aim to enhance our work environments, creating lasting infrastructure and social legacies
5. We Deliver to Grow – Successful project delivery enables our strategic growth and strengthens OCU’s capabilities.
6. We are One Company United -Successful collaboration across the whole group.

OCU Group is a fast-growing organisation with ambitious growth plans. We would like you to be part of our future – we are inviting young people to apply for our roles, in particular the 2025 Graduate scheme and apprenticeship programme

Offer Overview

Our Early careers population is made up of Apprentices, Graduates, and Industrial Placement students. In total across OCU we have x125 that fall into this category, approximately 8% of our directly employed workforce.

Typically, although we do recruit ad-hoc through the year, we will commence all new starters in bulk in September. They will attend a Group EC induction in early September, then will go out to the various departments for local inductions. Each EC will have an individual development plan specific to the job role, an allocated mentor and three-monthly progress reviews. The EC population are managed and monitored centrally by the Group L&D team.

Types of Early Careers you may consider:

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a structured program that combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction, allowing individuals to gain skills and experience while working under the supervision of experienced professionals. Apprenticeships are offered across a range of professions relevant to OCU, in total there are 881 Apprenticeship Standards, from Levels 2 to Level 7, across a range of durations.

Graduates

A Graduate is an individual who has successfully completed an academic program at a university or other educational institution and has been awarded a degree. Graduates can come from Degree topics that link directly with the role you may have available, or the degree may not link directly but may offer transferable skills and knowledge that could benefit the role. The OCU Graduate Programme is a two-year scheme, centrally managed by the L&D team. All Graduates have an “on-the-job” development plan, twelve weekly reviews, regular CPD sessions and training courses relevant to the role.

Industry placements

Industry Placements are a one-year work-based learning opportunity where students gain hands-on experience in a professional environment related to their field of study. These placements are often undertaken at the end of year two of a three-year Degree programme, after the placement the student would return to the University to undertake the final year. If the relationship works from both parties the student could then return onto the OCU Graduate scheme on completion of the Degree.