It’s 2022.  You don’t want to hear about the “exciting opportunity” that we have available for you to join our Graduate Programme, or that if you ‘want a challenge’ that this is the role for you.  And you certainly don’t want a generic advert with no personality or insight into who DFDS are and what we stand for.

You want to hear about what you’ll be doing, your progression and development, our E.S.G. strategy, how you can contribute to our success and, of course, the pay and benefits. We’re also sure you’d like to hear from our current graduates about their experience and the real honest truth about our programme and the support available throughout their placements.

 

Well, luckily, that’s how we do things at DFDS. We’re not looking for someone with “hands-on” experience in this and 100 years’ experience in that (although we have been about for 155 years!)  We are looking for the future, now - those who will be leaders in our business, we are on the hunt for untapped talent and potential.

 

We’re expecting that you’ll either be fresh out of uni or you’re wanting a career change, we’re looking for graduates with a 2:1 hons or above in any discipline.  Experience aside, what you will need to have is a good sense of humour, a passion for driving projects forward, the ability to look at things a bit differently and an attitude that says ‘I can achieve anything!’.  With this we will ensure you succeed.

 

So…why logistics and shipping?  Pretty much everything you touch and everything you eat has a supply chain involved.  It’s either come on one of our lorries or been on one of our ships, without supply chains like ours, the world would stand still, this is why logistics and shipping is so important right across the globe.  Not only do we carry eight million tonnes of cargo and 800,000 trailer units on our ships annually, but we also transport over six million passengers across our nine passenger routes, even the annual Christmas Tree for Trafalgar Square comes from Oslo to the UK on one of our ships!  Pretty cool hey?

 

Our graduate programme consists of four, six-month placements across all areas of our business.  The aim of our programme is to give you as much diverse experience as possible so you can not only learn different areas of our business, network with colleagues of all levels, you’ll be able to live and work somewhere away from home, all whilst getting paid and developing your career.  You’ll have a dedicated mentor in the business as well as your choice from our structured learning programmes which will give you the necessary further academic qualifications to support your ongoing development on the job.  We support you in identifying the best development for you, so whether this be in Project Management, Operations Management or a Master’s degree, we have options available for everyone.

 

We understand how important it is to feel part of a graduate programme so we regularly meet for development days and fun activities which will give you the opportunity to really grow as a graduate community within DFDS – we know that working hard and playing hard are a good mix! 

 

 

Meet Olivia

 

Olivia started on our graduate programme in 2021 and worked in our Border Compliance Team for her first 6-month placement.  Olivia experienced first-hand how Brexit has affected the movement of goods across our UK borders and consequently our operations and continually adapting to legislation changes.

 

Olivia’s second placement was with the HR Team on the port of Immingham.  Here Olivia gained a great understanding of the wider business and how HR support the strategic goals of the organisation, juggling multiple projects ranging from colleague engagement & communications to apprenticeships and recruitment, Olivia was a pivotal part of our team!

 

Since then, Olivia has moved to work in our Dublin office, where she is immersed into our operation.  Olivia is experiencing shipping operations, customer service and transport where she is gaining a good understanding of how they impact each other for a successful supply chain. 

 

Olivia will move onto her fourth placement where we will then support her in transitioning to a permanent opportunity within the business in an area where the skills, she’s gained on the programme will really enable her to succeed and continue to grow with us.

 

Olivia describes her journey throughout the graduate programme as a great challenge where you’re pushed out of your comfort zone but support every step of the way!

 

What we can offer you… You’ll receive a wage of £25,000 in the first year, rising to £27,000 in the second year, alongside lots of great benefits such as life assurance cover, a contributory company pension scheme and the ability to purchase extra holidays.  We offer proactive financial, emotional, mental and physical health care support including face to face counselling, fast 24/7 access to a GP, a second medical opinion and legal support for you and your family. 

You’ll also have free ferry travel for up to 4 guests between Dover and Calais and Newcastle and Amsterdam with no limit on trips and discounts in our duty free shops.  We know you’ll be missing your student discount, so we have a huge range of retail discounts from high street and online retailers too.

 

Who We Are….DFDS provides shipping and transport services in Europe, generating annual revenues of EUR 1.9bn. To over 8,400 freight customers, we deliver high performance and superior reliability through shipping and port terminal services, and transport and logistics solutions. For six million passengers, we provide safe overnight and short sea ferry services. Our 11,000 employees are located on ships and in offices across more than 20 countries. DFDS was founded in 1866, is headquartered in Copenhagen, and listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen.  In the UK, DFDS prides itself on having signed the Armed Forces Covenant and membership of the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network.

 

Sound too good to be true, it’s not!  Apply now!   If you are looking to start your career in one of Northern Europe’s leading shipping and logistics company, please send us your CV! We know you are more than what’s written on your CV, so if you meet our eligibility criteria the next stages in our selection process will give you the opportunity to show off your personality and skills and we’re sure that it will give you an opportunity to represent yourself how you want to!