Frequently asked questions

Ideally, we look for graduates with a 2:1 or above in a relevant degree subject (or predicted 2:1 for interns).

This depends on your graduate or internship scheme. We are a UK-wide manufacturer with 18 sites, from Lancashire to Gloucestershire. It works best when we base our graduates centrally in south Derbyshire to make travel easier between locations.

If you secure a place on our commercial scheme you may be located in the south or north of the UK. All locations are clearly indicated on the scheme overview.

We like to give you as much exposure to the business as possible, right from the offset. As part of your induction, you will be introduced to a network of contacts who will support you throughout your time on the scheme. For each rotation you undertake, you will work with a different rotation manager and team to develop your knowledge and skills in day-to-day business activities.

If you join our graduate scheme, you’ll be given a permanent employment contract. If you join as an intern, we’ll give you a 12-month, fixed-term contract; if you have a successful internship, we will offer you a conditional place on our graduate scheme.

You will receive an acknowledgement email after which we will contact you via email about the status of your application.

We like to move things along quickly, so we’ll keep you updated with timescales to ensure that you have enough time to prepare.

We like to keep things simple so that we see the real you. If your initial application is successful, we will invite you to take part in a short telephone interview. Following success at that stage, we will invite you to attend one of our assessment centres where you will be given the opportunity to see what it’s really like to have a career with us. It will also enable us to assess your skills, knowledge and behaviours for the scheme. We prepare everybody for our assessment centres with a coaching call in advance, so you are well placed to put across your best self.

You will receive high level feedback via email following telephone interviews. Following your attendance at our assessment centre, you will receive more detailed feedback to support your career development.

Yes, please indicate your preference during the application process.

Our assessment centres run in February and early March. We will advise you during your telephone interview of dates and locations so you can hold the date. You will be given a minimum of five working days’ notice to attend.

Yes, if you have travelled in excess of 100 miles for your complete journey, we will reimburse your travel expenses up to a maximum of £100.

We encourage applications for our graduate and intern schemes from all who have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to provide sponsorship for work permits or visas.

Most of our graduate and intern schemes require travel, therefore, you will require a drivers licence.

We want graduates to own their career. To enable us to tailor your development to get you role ready, we encourage you to start thinking about your ideal first role within Forterra at the beginning of your second year. On completion of your graduate scheme, you will be appointed into a role that fits your skills and experience and is at least one grade higher.

High performing interns will be invited to fast track onto one our graduate schemes.

We only accept undergraduates onto our intern schemes. If you have already graduated, or are about to, please apply for one of our graduate schemes.

Our graduate community do a great job of making you feel part of the team and will invite you to attend informal engagement days so you can start to learn more about the business, and get to know your colleagues in person, before you start.

Our graduate mentors work hard to get to know your strengths and development areas. Rotations are selected carefully to prepare you for a successful career with us and to deliver against business need. We will work with you to allocate your rotations so that you are able to continually develop and stretch yourself. We encourage you to indicate preferences and provide input into your preferred roles, however, we expect our graduates to be flexible.

Our intern placements begin on 20 July, 2020, and our graduate schemes start on 7 September, 2020.

If your scheme involves multi-site travel, you will be given a company car for the duration of the graduate scheme. You will also be given a mobile phone and laptop computer for business use.