Check out our picks from the Financial Times' UK's best employers 2025 list
Are you looking for your first job and wondering where to start?
Last week, we shared our top picks of UK employers from Great Place to Work’s best workplace report.
This week, we’re continuing our mission to inspire all you job seekers out there, picking our favourite early careers employers from The Financial Times’ UK’s Best Employers 2025 interactive rankings.
The FT highlights 500 top companies, based on the views of over 20,000 employees. If you’re still seeking career inspiration, this is a gold mine of potential opportunities that will help you kickstart the career of a lifetime.
These companies excel across a range of factors, including pay, development opportunities, and working conditions, so you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place to start your career.
Here our some of our industry favourites:
Aerospace & Defence
- BAE Systems - A global defence and aerospace company offering cutting-edge technology roles and strong graduate development programmes.
- Rolls-Royce - Renowned for engineering excellence, Rolls-Royce offers careers in aviation, energy, and sustainability-focused innovation.
- Babcock International - A key player in engineering support services, especially for defence, marine, and nuclear sectors, with strong pathways for apprentices and graduates.
Interested in a career in Aerospace & Defence? Kickstart your career today!
Banking & Investment Services
- Legal & General - A leading financial services group focused on pensions, investment, and insurance, known for its fantastic culture and early-career support.
- Natwest Group - One of the UK’s major banking groups, offering diverse roles in finance, tech, and customer service, with a strong focus on skills development.
- HSBC - A global banking giant with UK roots, providing broad international opportunities across finance, tech, and sustainability.
Interested in a career in Banking & Investment Services? Kickstart your career today!
Property, Construction, & Raw Materials
- Balfour Beatty - A major infrastructure company building the UK’s roads, railways, and power systems, with great prospects in engineering and project management.
- Mace - A global consultancy and construction firm, known for delivering iconic projects and offering well-structured graduate schemes in construction and consulting.
- Morgan Sindall - A UK-based construction and regeneration group committed to sustainable development and providing solid career foundations in the built environment.
Interested in a career in Property, Construction, & Raw Materials? Kickstart your career today!
Consulting & Professional Services
- ARUP - A world-leading design and engineering consultancy driven by innovation and sustainability, ideal for early-career professionals in architecture, engineering, and planning.
- KPMG - One of the Big Four professional services firms, offering a range of roles in audit, consulting, and tech with a strong graduate and apprenticeship focus.
- Grant Thornton - A progressive audit and advisory firm known for its people-first culture and personalised development paths for early-career talent.
Interested in a career in Consulting & Professional Services? Kickstart your career today!
We currently have live early career opportunities with all the companies listed on Mereo Talent.
Don’t forget, you can view the full list at the FT, here: UK’s Best Employers 2025: interactive ranking.