Graduate posts at the Vehicle Certification Agency

Take it up a gear with our world-class Graduate Scheme to become an Incorporated or Chartered Engineer. See first-hand the impact you can make on the future of automotive safety and compliance, working alongside industry experts and manufacturers in the UK and overseas.

Take advantage of travelling in the UK and overseas, embracing new cultures, versatility and cutting-edge technologies along the way.

Begin your journey with us

Graduates are integral to our work, bringing new skills and expertise that help us to grow. Open to individuals who have qualifications in automotive engineering, aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering, computer sciences and more; we are confident our programme is an opportunity for many to diversify and succeed at the VCA.

Immerse yourself in the automotive industry with our all-inclusive schedule of internal and external work placements. Learn from world-leading experts and manufacturers, working towards your Incorporated or Chartered status on our five year scheme.

Take advantage of travelling in the UK and overseas, embracing new cultures, versatility and cutting-edge technologies along the way. Our unique scheme also offers permanent employment, as well as benefits offered to all Civil Servants.

Our team will be on hand to mentor you on your journey. Enabling every opportunity to perform at your best and become an integrated member of the VCA.

Meet our Graduates

Have a look below to see what our current Graduates have to say!

Katie

    Working at the VCA offers you variety like no other job in the automotive industry. You can be hands on in a testing lab, workshop or on track working on any vehicle from high end supercars to fire engines. It also offers the opportunity to travel and see the world.

    Katie

    Graduate Engineer

    Nipun

      It does not matter if you have experience in some areas or none, as this role provides a wide variety of learning and career development opportunities.

      Nipun

      Graduate engineer

      Meet Minhaj

      Minaj joined our Graduate Scheme in September 2019 and has been on an exciting journey since day one.

      Current Programmes

      Applications are closed at the present time – Please register your interest using the options below.

      Stay connected

      If you are interested in joining the VCA, sign up to be the first to hear when new opportunities emerge.

      Create a job alert

      All VCA jobs are listed on the Civil Service Jobs website. Once you have created an account, click on the link below to create a job alert. Remember to choose ‘Vehicle Certification Agency’ in the Department filter.

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      Subscribe to our mailing list to hear about current and upcoming opportunities, click on the link below, enter your details and ensure you select the ‘Careers’ topic.

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      Current Programmes

      Cyber Security

      Cyber Security Graduate Engineer

      Contract type: Permanent 
      Job grade: Executive Officer 
      Salary: £28,119 (Starting salary of £28,119 – £28,821 with an additional graduate allowance of £1,450 applied)
      Business area: VCA Bristol Operations
      Number of jobs available: 1

      Cyber Security

      Graduate Policy Engineer

      Contract type: Permanent 
      Job grade: Executive Officer 
      Salary: £28,119 (Starting salary of £28,119 – £28,821 with an additional graduate allowance of £1,450 applied)
      Business area: VCA Bristol Operations
      Number of jobs available: 1

      Crash Test

      Certification Graduate Engineer

      Contract type: Permanent 
      Job grade: Executive Officer 
      Salary: £28,119 (Starting salary of £28,119 – £28,821 with an additional graduate allowance of £1,450 applied)
      Business area: VCA Bristol Operations
      Number of jobs available: 4

      Benefits of working for the VCA

      Competitive salary

      A competitive salary and a range of potential allowances.

      Leave

      Up to 30 days annual leave (with a minimum of 25 days). An opportunity to buy and sell annual leave.

      A Civil Service Pension

      Read more about Civil Service Pensions.

      Flexible working

      Including flexi-time and home working (subject to operational requirements).

      Family friendly policies

      Family friendly policies to support maternity, paternity and shared parental leave.

      Skills allowance

      Earn more with our range of additional annual allowances (Subject to role) including our Engineering Skills Allowance.

      Employee discount scheme

      Discounts on a range of products and service through our employee discount scheme.

      Health and wellbeing support

      Access to an Employee Assistance Programme, supporting a range of well-being needs.

      Staff recognition

      Local Recognition Award payments for individuals or teams.

      Free Parking

      Free onsite parking and reduced rates for vehicle charging at our larger sites.

      Cycle to work scheme

      Save money on a new bike and spread the cost over monthly tax-free instalments.

      Corporate Clothing

      Annual corporate clothing allowance.

      Learning and Development

      Structured development plans and time for learning and development.

      External Training

      Opportunities to attend external training courses.

      Volunteering time

      Up to 3 days per year volunteering time.

      Networking Groups

      Access to a range of Civil Service and Department for Transport network groups.

      Graduate Application Process

      How to apply

      1

      Application submission and sift

      As part of the application process, you will be asked to supply your Curriculum Vitae (CV) and provide a personal statement. For the personal statement, you will be asked to provide examples against the criteria listed in the “How to Apply” section of the advert.

      If you pass the initial application sift, you’ll be invited to attend an in-person assessment.

      2

      In-person assessment

      We will assess your suitability using success profiles to evaluate your behaviours, experience, strengths and technical knowledge. This will consist of:

      A written exercise -where again you will work as an individual with a fixed time to complete the task.  

      Practical exercise -where you will work as an individual presented with a realistic engineering problem that you will need to complete. 

      Group Exercise – where you will work with others to resolve an engineering problem and present your findings back to the panel.

      Interview -The final assessment on the day will be in the form of an interview.

      Click here to find out more about Success Profiles on the GOV.UK website.

      3

      Offer

      If you are successful at interview, you will be sent a provisional offer. Once you have accepted this, the onboarding process for you joining the agency will begin. Once complete, you will be sent a formal offer and a member of the HR team will arrange a phone conversation to discuss the terms and conditions of your employment.

      Person working on laptop

      Applying to the VCA

      Help, guidance and tips on what to do when applying as well as further information about life and careers within the civil service.

      Next Steps

      If you are interested in applying for one of our roles, we’d love to hear from you. Please keep an eye on this page and Civil Service Jobs for opportunities at the VCA.