Let’s cut straight to it. Taking care of ‘one of life’s essentials’ – it’s our purpose and we want you to be part of it. Supplying wholesome drinking water, treating wastewater and recycling this back to the environment responsibly is no mean feat. We serve around 8 million people across the Midlands and Wales and unlike other businesses, our delivery is non-negotiable. It’s a matter of life.

Many of our employees are also our customers, so we truly take pride in what we do! Employing people from across our communities and beyond, Severn Trent is an exciting and inclusive place to work – a place where you can be curious, can be ‘Wonderfully You’ and where you can truly make an impact to our environment, now and for future generations.

Let’s tell you more

Our Mechanical engineering Design Year in Industry Programme offers the perfect blend of personal and professional development, exposing you to the frontline and the core of our business.

Severn Trent Capital and Commercial Services design and deliver water and wastewater infrastructure, including pipelines and treatment facilities. The work you undertake will be interesting and varied.

The programme will enable you to spend time in our various capital design teams, working on the electrical elements of treatment and infrastructure assets that present solutions to tomorrows problems.

How do we meet the challenge of population growth? How do we navigate the extreme weather events which are becoming more frequent because of climate change? How do we deal with water shortages and longer periods of drought? How do we reduce our carbon emissions and mitigate the impact our business processes have on our planet?

These are all critical business challenges our teams are currently working to tackle, and you could come work alongside engineers that are trialling some of the best technology and innovation in the industry, making ground-breaking changes for future generations to come.

You’ll get a real insight into the sheer scale of engineering that goes into our water and wastewater treatment and distribution of our water supply and waste removal services.

You’ll get a real insight into the sheer scale of engineering that goes into our water and wastewater treatment and distribution of our water supply and waste removal services through moving across our engineering design teams. You’ll learn about different aspects of our business whilst working on a range of projects which will help address real life challenges and drive tangible change. You may be working in a waste workstream designing sewerage systems, or waste treatment designing tanks to facilitate sewage treatment; or in a clean water design team undertaking distribution pipe design or clean water treatment plant design.

What will you learn?

You will expand your knowledge of project and people management, including learning how to effectively manage and influence stakeholders. You’ll also gain a strong business and commercial acumen, developing your ability to plan strategically with time, cost, and quality in mind, and learn what it takes to successfully design and deliver infrastructure projects across multidisciplinary teams and our supply chain.

You’ll gain a deeper understanding of why and how we make sure we deliver with our customers at the heart of what we do, and how we communicate this message across our communities.

You will learn, on the job, by doing the following;

  • Preparing and contributing to the review of mechanical design deliverables, including specifications, calculations, datasheets, piping & instrumentation diagrams, 3D models and schedules.
  • Writing contract documentation.
  • Conducting site surveys, investigations and asset condition assessments.
  • Scoping solutions working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
  • Liaising with contractors and suppliers for equipment selection and supply & installation quotations.
  • Understanding British standards & regulations, including construction design management, alongside water industry specific legislation, specifications and guidelines.

Our New Talent Team will guide you and support you every step of the way. Furthermore, your line manager and mentor will be there to help you in making sure you reach your full potential here at Severn Trent.

Programme Duration: Programme Duration: 12 months

Entry criteria

We require you to be studying a degree in an IMechE accredited degree in Mechanical Engineering or a degree meeting IMechE’s CEng accreditation.

You must be a student who needs to complete a placement as part of their undergraduate degree, this will normally mean you are currently in your 2nd year of a 4 year degree.

Typical contracts are 37 hours per week, however there may be flexibility around the structure of your working hours, team and line manager dependent.

What we’re looking for

We want our employees to care and to have a genuine passion for what we do as a business. We need people who want to make a difference in providing a vital service to our customers, now and for the long-term.

We’d love you to be someone with…

  • A ‘can do’ attitude – willing to get stuck in, take accountability for decisions and actions and who takes pride in their work
  • A love of variety in a role and ability to adapt to a dynamic, fast-paced working environment
  • Ability to quickly prioritise tasks and the initiative to dive head-first into problem solving.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills and enjoy working with multiple teams
  • Ability to analyse and interpret information and effectively communicate this to different team members and audiences
  • Ability to travel freely across our patch to visit different sites and travel to meetings and training days
  • Curiosity to learn quickly in a reactive and dynamic working environment

We’d love you to be someone with…

  • An interest in protecting the environment
  • The desire to work with industry leading technology
  • Knowledge in fluid mechanics, materials selection and pipework design
  • Problem solving skills
  • Excellent communication skills
  • A positive, can do attitude

Diversity and inclusion

At Severn Trent we are passionate about our people. We want to make sure that we continue to foster a more diverse, inclusive, and cohesive culture that represents the communities and customers we serve. We’re making sure we keep up the progress with our wonderful working groups – LGBTQ+, Women in Operations & STEM, Disability and Ethnicity, who help us with our commitments. Find out more about our commitments to Diversity and Inclusion at Severn Trent.

How we’ll reward and care for you in return

It’s not just a job you’ll get here, you’ll get a career too. We have a range of benefits that reward and recognise great work and award-winning training to ensure you reach your potential. And we’ll also help you play your part in looking after the environment and the community in which we live.

Here’s some of our favourites:

  • 25 days holiday + bank holidays
  • Annual bonus scheme maximum £1,500 (pro rata based on your start date, and based on company performance)
  • Dedicated training and development with our ‘Academy’
  • Family friendly policies
  • Two community volunteering days during your placement

Let’s go

Apply now to build an amazing career and be part of a brilliant team. We can’t wait to hear from you.

  • Roles close on 31st January 2025
  • Check your diary – face to face assessments will run from 17th February-14th March 2025.
  • Estimated start date- September 2025

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeatSevernTrent on social media.