Barnett Waddingham

Barnett Waddingham runs the same three-stage process for its summer internship, graduate and actuarial analyst hires, as its early careers FAQ sets out: an online application, a competency-based telephone interview lasting around 20 minutes, and a final assessment day combining an interview, a case study, numerical testing, a presentation and a group exercise. The loop compresses into a single on-site assessment day after a short phone screen, so it can be completed without blocking out multiple separate visits – useful when it runs alongside other autumn applications built around multi-round loops.

Barnett Waddingham runs three early-career routes into its consulting business:

• Summer internships: three eight-week tracks – actuarial, public sector and employer consulting; investment; and insurance and longevity – for undergraduates with one year of study remaining, running the first week of July to the last week of August
• Graduate schemes: Trainee Consultant, Trainee Pension Management Consultant, Trainee Pension Administration Consultant (a two-year programme), Trainee Pensions Analyst and Graduate Software Developer, typically starting the first week of September
• Level 3 apprenticeships: 18 months across pension administration, financial services administration, IT support and secretarial/reception tracks, offered since 2018

A candidate who completes one of the three summer tracks is the pool BW draws its September graduate offers from, so the summer internship functions as the de facto first round of the graduate scheme rather than a standalone placement.

Barnett Waddingham holds an 'A'-rated UK Visa and Immigration sponsor licence, which it states gives it the ability to issue Restricted and Unrestricted Tier 2 (General) certificates of sponsorship. Its own FAQ adds that applicants still need to have the right to work in the UK, without stating which early-career roles or salary levels qualify for sponsorship in practice. Holding the licence is necessary but not sufficient for an international candidate: it is worth confirming directly with BW's graduate recruitment team whether a given programme's pay meets Skilled Worker visa thresholds before applying.

Barnett Waddingham's application system opens each July and closes in November across its summer internship, graduate and apprenticeship routes, with assessment days running from November through January. The eight-week summer internship itself runs from the first week of July to the last week of August, and the graduate scheme typically starts the first week of September; apprenticeships start at various points through the year. The three summer-internship tracks and five graduate schemes all draw on this same four-month application window and the same assessment period, so a candidate weighing more than one BW route is preparing for overlapping, not sequential, phone screens and assessment days.

Howden completed its acquisition of Barnett Waddingham on 7 April 2025, combining the firms into a business with almost 4,000 pensions and employee-benefits specialists worldwide and global revenue approaching £500 million; BW's partners reinvested into the combined group rather than exiting. Within the Investment Consulting graduate programme, trainees choose between working towards the CFA or the IFoA qualification, while other consulting tracks default to IFoA fellowship, with study days, financial support and an assigned study mentor built into the role. A candidate joining BW now is joining mid-integration into a considerably larger global group rather than the standalone UK partnership BW operated as before April 2025, a scale trade-off worth weighing before applying.

Barnett Waddingham currently has no open internship or graduate roles listed on Jorb AI. This page updates continuously; check back as new postings rotate.

Applications to Barnett Waddingham go through the official careers site. Each role on this page links directly to the specific application. Barnett Waddingham does not use third-party submission services.