The Scheme Traineeship

Closing date for applications: 28th October

Salary: £25,500 per annum (plus travel bursary)

Application deadline: 12pm on Monday 28th October 

Salary: £25.5k per annum (£12.75k per 6-month placement) and competitive benefits package (travel bursary for those travelling from afar available upon request) 

The Scheme is for voices we want to hear more of in publishing. Could yours be one of them?    

Make your mark by spending six months between January – July 2025 working with the best at the leading UK publisher. You’ll immerse yourself within either our Publicity, Editorial or Publishing Operations business areas, geared up to support you as you make decisions for yourself and contribute to our mission to make books for everyone.  

Whatever team you’re placed with, you’ll gain universally applicable skills that will equip you for wherever you go next. We’ll teach you about publishing and Penguin, just start here.  

All trainees are paid £25,500 per annum (equivalent to £12,750 for the six months of the traineeship). We also offer a travel bursary for those commuting from outside of London.

Click the 'Apply' button to find out more about the variety of placements available.  

Eligibility criteria  

You’ll need to have a pre-existing right to work in the UK for the duration of the traineeship as unfortunately we are not able to offer visa sponsorship. You don’t need a degree, you’ll just need to be over 18.

To achieve our mission to make books for everyone because a book can change anyone, we are seeking out new voices. To apply, you’ll need to identify as from a lower socio-economic background.

We use parental occupation at age 14 to measure this as the Social Mobility Commission suggests it to be the most accurate measure available to assess socio-economic background, as well as being accessible to those from all nationalities.  

To apply for The Scheme, at age 14 your highest-earning parent/guardian was not in management and was employed in one of the following categories:   

Technical and craft occupations such as motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter or waitress, bar staff unemployed (claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance or earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year).

We recognise these are broad categories that may not fully reflect the many hundreds of jobs out there, or exactly fit your family situation. Please use your judgement when self-identifying.     

Our application process  

Because our doors are open to all kinds of talent, we’re using the inclusive hiring platform Applied to ask three questions about the universal skills we call ‘qualities’. You’ll answer a few short questions on the platform.     

If you’re successful you’ll attend our online learning and selection day in November, where you’ll be assessed on the rest of the qualities, get to know some of your potential colleagues, and come away with some helpful resources for the future.    

We will then offer the successful candidates their placements and get you onboarded ready for a great induction on your start date!    

We will provide reasonable adjustments to those with a disability at all stages of the recruitment process and encourage any requests that will make the process more comfortable for you.