Rolls-Royce Motor Cars earlier this month welcomed the company’s intern ‘class of 2024-25’ to the ‘Home of Rolls-Royce’ at Goodwood to embark on a 13-month programme. The 90 new arrivals are all undergraduates, studying a variety of degree courses at universities around the UK. During their 13 months with Rolls-Royce, the interns will work alongside experienced engineers and bespoke designers, as well as professionals in a range of departments including finance, sales and marketing, IT, human resources and corporate communications.
To ease the transition from academia to the workplace, the new interns were invited to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood for a networking day earlier this year. This event was led by the current intern cohort who offered their new colleagues an opportunity to learn more about the Internship Programme. The event also allowed the new intake to meet their future managers, teammates and peers, building relationships and making connections ahead of their formal start date.
While an internship does not guarantee a job with the company in the future, many return after graduating to build long-term careers with Rolls-Royce, going on to take up supervisory, management and leadership roles. One example is Luke Strudwick, who joined Rolls-Royce in 2017 as an intern with the communications team. After completing his degree, he was formally hired as a corporate communications executive, progressing first to global product communications manager and later HR planning and steering business partner. Luke was appointed sustainability and corporate communications manager earlier this year, and will be acting as mentor himself to one of the new intake.
Luke Strudwick, sustainability and corporate communications manager at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “The internship programme at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is incredibly rewarding, and it has provided me with the skills, confidence and business acumen to allow me to progress in my career. The support and responsibility provided to interns, along with the experience of working for such a prestigious marque has supported my development and resulted in me further progressing my career within the company.”
The internship programme has run every year since the company began production at Goodwood in 2003, with numbers increasing year-on-year. It forms a key element of the Rolls-Royce Future Talent Programme, which also offers apprenticeships, including degree options, and a graduate scheme.