Our graduate recruitment focuses primarily on our annual graduate programme for those individuals who want to become our successful Steel Traders of the future.

The Trainee Trader Programme

For the past 25 years we have recruited a few recent graduates annually to join our Trainee Trader Programme. This programme is designed to produce the future ‘star’ traders and leaders of our business and covers all elements of international trading, from negotiation and contracts through to shipping and finance, to equip our trainees with the fundamental knowledge of trading steel and related raw materials.

Training is predominantly on-the-job via an apprenticeship model whereby trainees support experienced traders in the execution of their transactions. This is an essential part of understanding the process of steel trading, but ultimately trainees will begin trading independently, where they are expected to manage all aspects of the international steel trading business. These include but are not limited to:

Identifying potential sources, customers, markets and products to develop.
Enhancing existing and new relationships.
Purchasing from suppliers and selling to customers at the best possible prices and commercial conditions to minimise risk and maximise market presence and returns for Stemcor.
Managing the execution of the transactions until delivery and payment have been completed.

To complement our apprenticeship model we also provide introductory workshops on all aspects of the trading process and our business, alongside formal training on our bespoke trading system and a series of short external courses. These include site visits to ports and steel mills, classroom sessions on import/export procedures and web based trade finance tutorials.

One of the most exciting but challenging aspects of our programme is the early responsibility we give to our trainees – they are immediately involved in “real work” from day 1 – no spending months in a classroom here!

Trainee’s future careers with us are also varied, and will depend on the strengths of the individual as well the needs of the business. These could include posting in our overseas offices, becoming an “expert” trader in a particular product or geography or eventually becoming a Trading Manager – responsible for a department of Traders.

Who we look for

If you are a bright, numerate graduate with commercial flair, can demonstrate entrepreneurial ability and have a self-starting, can-do attitude then we are interested in hearing from you.

You should also have at least a 2:1 UK degree or international equivalent, strong interpersonal skills plus have a genuine interest in international trading. Given the global nature of our business, language skills are also advantageous.

For any other graduate opportunities please see our Current Opportunities page.