Student placements can be undertaken at different stages of further and higher education. There are many different options to consider.
Opportunities:
| When to look | Typical opportunities |
|---|---|
| September–November | Graduate schemes, consultancy roles, Civil Service schemes and some year-in-industry placements |
| November–January | NRW sandwich-year and industry placements |
| January–April | Summer internships, research placements and field-season opportunities |
| All year | Volunteering, citizen science, speculative approaches, job alerts and virtual experience |
Opportunities to explore this Autumn:
Natural Resources Wales
NRW normally advertises sandwich-year and industry placements between November and January. It also offers apprenticeships, paid internships and usually 12-month graduate placements. Tip: You can create a profile and set up job alerts before vacancies appear.
Find out more about careers in Natural Resources Wales on the EPW website.
Welsh Water
Welsh Water has an annual graduate programme alongside apprenticeships, internships and week-long work-experience opportunities. Tip: Explore Welsh Water’s site for early career opportunities in the water and environmental sectors. Join the Welsh Water Talent Community so that you’re ready to apply to upcoming opportunities. Check the website regularly to find out about upcoming opportunities like the Graduate Scheme.
Find out more about Careers in the Water and Wastewater Industry on the EPW website.
EDT Year in Industry (for school and college leavers, undergraduates and graduates)
EDT provides searchable paid industry placements and allows users to filter by education stage and subject area, including environmental and sustainability science.
Civil Service Fast Stream (for graduates)
The Science and Engineering Fast Stream includes work relating to areas such as climate change, Earth observation, sustainable housing and environmental regulation. Register your interest and check from autumn. Location preferences are considered but particular locations cannot be guaranteed.
Environmental consultancies
From September to November, check the early-careers pages of environmental, engineering and infrastructure consultancies with offices in Wales.
Gain experience during term time:
Volunteering Wales: searchable local opportunities across Wales.
Wildlife Trusts Wales: there are five Welsh Wildlife Trusts, with opportunities including nature-reserve work, species surveys, plant identification, GPS mapping, events and office-based support.
Keep Wales Tidy: local environmental activity and volunteering routes.
RSPB volunteering: placements cover a wide variety of RSPB work and specialisms, from conservation and communications to advocacy and ecology.
Environmental volunteering | Environmentjob.co.uk: A notice board for voluntary opportunities
University sustainability and Students’ Union volunteering: There may be also be chance to get involved with sustainability at your university, for example;
Plan now for summer 2027:
Summer environmental placements may not be advertised until the spring. Set alerts, prepare a one-page CV and speak to your university careers team during the autumn term.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology: Check here regularly for any UKCEH undergraduate internships, placements and work experience opportunities that become available. UKCEH cannot support speculative placement requests; it posts funded opportunities when programmes become available. UKCEH recommend applying to advertised opportunities where suitable if you are interested in gaining environmental science experience at UKCEH. You may also find it useful to review the UKCEH job platform to see if field roles, laboratory, temporary or other roles of interest are available.
Amgueddfa Cymru: Work Experience | Museum Wales offers a range of placements. You can sign up to the mailing list or follow Museum Wales on social media to be the first to find out about upcoming opportunities. If you are under 25, Amgueddfa Cymru Producers are a group of young people who collaborate with the Museum through participatory and paid opportunities. Tip: Museum Wales also offer Group Volunteering opportunities. What better way to showcase your employability than arrange group work experience?
NERC Research Experience Placements: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), offers paid Research Experience Placements (REPs) specifically aimed at undergraduate and integrated Master’s students lasting six to ten weeks during the summer. These are distributed through participating doctoral programmes and universities rather than through one central student application.
Other ideas
The National Trust
The National Trust recommend contacting individual National Trust places directly to find out about any available traineeships, work experience or volunteering opportunities. They also offer apprenticeships which are open to anyone. Roles tend to run from September onwards and can include work as a nature and wildlife ranger, in IT, horticulture or project management.
Conservation Careers
Find out more about Conservation Internship and Volunteering opportunities including Top Conservation Internships
The Carbon Literacy Project
Green Jobs for Nature advise students on where to find short-term placements or volunteering.
Request an ad hoc placement
How to ask employers for work experience | Prospects
How to get an internship with NO experience | Alexis Choi
How Be Your Own Work-experience Boss
Find out how to Become a Carbon Literacy Project Facilitator and Meet some of our student trainers
Become a Ambassador for Wales via the Wales Ambassador Scheme
Have you talked to you University Careers Team?
Your university’s careers team will advertise up-to-date opportunities, including internal / external volunteering opportunities. It is worth booking an appointment with a careers advisor to find out more and for support to access placements or work experience.
Aberystwyth University
Bangor University
Cardiff University
Cardiff Met
Swansea University
University of South Wales
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Wrexham University; Industry Placement Year
Some courses will offer placements in industry as a module (for example Aberystwyth University offers a Applied Geospatial Skills in Industry module) or a sandwich year.