MAKE

YOUR MARK
WITH US

2022 GRADUATE PROGRAMME

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CONTENTS
04 About Us
06 Our Programmes
08 Supervision, Policy & Competition

CHOOSE A 10 Authorisations

CAREER
12 Economics
14 Data, Technology & Innovation
16 Market Oversight

THAT
18 Enforcement
20 Operations
22 Human Resources

MATTERS
24 Summer Internship
25 Training
26 Benefits
27 Application Process

www.fca.org.uk/graduate

@TheFCA

Financial Conduct Authority

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ABOUT US
The economy affects us all.
When it functions poorly, the results INTERESTED IN
FINANCIAL
can be devastating. That’s why we at
the FCA make sure that UK financial
markets remain honest, fair and effective.
It’s about ensuring firms and businesses
REGULATION?
This is your chance to carve out
behave responsibly, so that consumers a career that matters
everywhere can get a fair deal.

Created by parliament in 2013, we regulate more than 59,000

UK firms undertaking a wide range of financial activities.
We’re also the prudential regulator for over 18,000 of these
businesses. Since then, we have made it our mission to
protect consumers, promote healthy competition and
enhance the integrity of the UK financial system.
Every year we invite graduates and interns from a diverse
range of backgrounds to join us – people just like you. It
doesn’t matter what subject you’re studying or have studied:
we have a programme for you. If you’re passionate and
ambitious about making an impact, you can go far at the FCA.
When you join us, you’ll gain invaluable experience and
develop expert knowledge working with some of the biggest
names in finance. Not only that, you’ll make a real difference
in the financial industry and to the UK population as a whole.
With 10 different programmes to choose from, there’s
no telling where your talent can take you.

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OUR PROGRAMMES

Our programmes give you a broad

understanding of the industry, plus an in-
depth knowledge of our organisation as a
whole. From Enforcement to Supervision, GAIN GROW IMPROVE
each division of the FCA has different areas
EXPERIENCE NETWORKS KNOWLEDGE
of expertise. Whether you’re legally minded or
more numerate, our programmes are designed
with you in mind.
Whichever programme you choose, you’ll gain
When you join us as a graduate, you’ll rotate around various teams real world experience and develop your networks
within your division and some may take on a broader internal secondment. while improving your skills and technical knowledge,
For those still at university, we offer a 10-week summer internship, and learning exactly how the financial service
designed for students about to enter their final year of study. sector works.

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SUPERVISION,
POLICY & COMPETITION In Supervision, the work really matters.
It’s about protecting consumers – which
when you think about it, we all are.
Bring your passion for problem solving Ranging from desk-based workloads
and strategic thinking into the constantly to investigative work, you get a lot of
responsibility from day one.
evolving world of financial regulation. Jus

Supervision, Policy & Competition (SPC) oversees every business

providing financial products and services in the UK. It’s work is vital to
protect customers and maintain the integrity of financial markets. SPC
ensures that firms work ethically and to the highest standards. There
are two routes within our SPC Graduate Programme:

1 Generalist 2 Specialist

On this route, you’ll have the This route is aimed at those with a STEM
opportunity to move around or Economics background. You’ll work
and complete rotations with firms across all sectors and develop
across a variety of areas. You a unique specialism within an area such
could be reviewing business as financial crime, cyber, safeguarding
models and analysing client assets, resolution or operational and Does this sound like you?
identified risks, developing financial resilience. You’ll provide direction
and delivering new policy and support to front-line supervisors, • interested in governance
proposals or engaging helping to reduce consumer harm. You’ll • strategically minded
with firms to ensure they also go on an internal secondment to • great at building strong relationships
put consumers at the learn how other areas of the FCA operate. • good at making decisions
heart of their business and You could also undertake a professional
respond appropriately when qualification such as a Cyber degree, CFA,
• strong analytical skills

detriment arises. ACCA or a diploma in Financial Crime. • influential and persuasive

Then we want to hear from you.

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AUTHORISATIONS
Authorisations is the FCA’s supervisory The FCA gives me a different view
of the financial world. I’m able
gateway, we decide who can undertake to increase my knowledge while
regulated activities in the UK. climbing to the top of my chosen
profession.
Temi
As the first point of contact for As a gateway supervisor you’ll
firms and individuals wanting to make decisions on whether to
provide regulated financial services, approve applications from firms and
Authorisations will: individuals. You’ll review applications
spanning a range of sectors and
• review new and innovative business
financial models, and help us decide
models and the risks associated
with these whether individuals are suitable to
undertake senior manager roles, such
• keep bad actors out of the markets as a CEO or Board Director.
• support those who meet our
You could spend time working in our
standards
Supervision Hub; a key part of the
The work is challenging but varied. supervision system which offers a
We’ll support you through coaching master class in managing customer
on essential business skills, and your relations and regulation. The Hub is
skills will develop through exposure to a key tool for sourcing intelligence
senior stakeholders and challenging used across the FCA to strengthen
projects. Authorisations alumni regulation and protect consumers and
acquire skills and market knowledge market integrity. It’s tough, but a great
that is highly sought after. Joining us place to learn about the business. Does this sound like you?
is an excellent route to a successful
FCA career. • Able to build trust and strong
relationships
• Willing to learn and take on new
responsibilities
• Inquisitive
• Calm under pressure
• Interested in governance and compliance

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ECONOMICS
Working in our Economics specialist
programme you’ll get the chance to use
your skills in a unique way. Supporting the
wider function of the FCA, you’ll provide
analysis and advice based on economic
principles and techniques.

Our Economics team provide rigorous economic thinking, research, The opportunity to
analysis and advice to help the FCA deliver on its strategic objective learn more about the
of making financial services markets work well. Day-to-day, you could financial sector here
be drafting reports, researching the background of a specified market, is tremendous.
presenting on your analysis or providing support and economic analysis Karthik
to the rest of the organisation. On top of all the experience you will gain
throughout the programme, you’ll also undertake a fully funded MSc in
Economics, if you don’t already have one.

Who works in Economics?

Graduates with:
There are lots of options for • an economics degree
economists at the FCA. Whether
you’re interested in behavioural
• a strong mathematical foundation

economics or policy evaluation, • a willingness to learn about financial markets

the graduate scheme gives you the
opportunity to explore areas that
• the ability to think on their feet and adapt
pre-existing knowledge to new situations
interest you.
Michael • great communication – both verbal and written

• attention to detail

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DATA, TECHNOLOGY
& INNOVATION
In Data, Technology & Innovation, we are
transforming the way the FCA analyses and
uses the data, intelligence and information
we receive, so we can spot harm and act
sooner. This allows us to more effectively
regulate the firms we oversee.
Within Data, Technology & Innovation there
are two routes for graduates:

1 Data Science 2 Tech & Change

On this route you’ll get the opportunity to If you: On this route you’ll support a large and varied
rotate across the organisation, working • have a quantitative degree portfolio of change programmes, implementing If you’re:
with varied and unique data sets. You’ll be new regulatory directives and the required
part of a pioneering team and will champion • enjoy working with data
information technology services. You’ll be • analytical
disruptive and innovative solutions. You’ll use • have proven analytical and aligned to one of our three Communities of • collaborative
data science techniques to solve challenging problem-solving skills Practice; Architecture and Operations, Change or • commercial minded
problems, improve FCA operations and advance Technology Delivery. You’ll rotate across all three,
• are a team player with • customer-focused
our ability to identify harm. This will include but for your final rotation, you’ll develop your
deploying machine learning to build classifiers,
strong interpersonal skills
skills within your chosen Community of Practice. • innovative
implementing natural language processing to Then we want to hear Throughout the programme you’ll gain exposure • passionate about change
automate document analysis and using network to a wide variety of business areas, delivering the
analytics to identify transaction patterns.
from you. solutions to complex business problems.
Join us today!

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MARKET OVERSIGHT If financial markets interest

you, there’s no better place
to work. Even at a junior
In Market Oversight we work to ensure level the work I’m given is
UK financial markets are fair and work important – in fact it’s often
sent to parliament, covered in
effectively. Our work allows investors the press and even signed off
to have confidence in UK financial directly by our CEO.

markets and plays a vital part in Daniel

protecting our economy.

This is an exciting opportunity to keep

your finger on the pulse of the UK financial
system. From live monitoring of the stock
market to detecting breaches of our rules;
no day is the same in this varied and fast-
paced environment.
As a graduate, you can make a real
difference working in Market Oversight.
From the start, you’ll be given your own
workstreams to develop and the autonomy
to make decisions. All with the support and
oversight of our friendly team. We pride
ourselves in taking on board everyone’s
We want to hear from you,
ideas. Your analysis and recommendations if you have the following:
can feed into decisions made at every level One of the best things about working
within the organisation.
• an interest in financial markets
in Market Oversight is the culture.
• are capable of building strong
Making the ‘what next’ decision after The team is really welcoming and relationships
university isn’t easy, but if you want variety, supportive. You can have a huge input
challenge and genuine responsibility, our into high profile cases and know that • enjoy solving problems

Market Oversight Graduate Programme your ideas will never be dismissed. • are decisive and persuasive
could be the right choice for you. Montae • want to work to keep our financial markets
• want to work for the benefit of society

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ENFORCEMENT
Our Enforcement teams investigate and
penalise UK businesses for breaching I work on an investigative
team, which means I spend
financial regulations. They look into most of my day investigating
companies’ misconduct and, ultimately, individuals suspected of
breaking the law. On a normal
bring about criminal and civil prosecutions. day I might go through a
company’s publicly available
accounts, draft court
As a graduate in the Enforcement team, documents or plan interviews
you’ll be investigating and tackling with suspects or witnesses.
the most serious regulatory breaches On an extraordinary day,
and incidents in financial services. I could be involved in the
Working in Enforcement is
Every day will be different and the work search of a suspect’s office or
a bit like being a detective,
you do will be varied, challenging and home – that’s always pretty
investigating breaches of
interesting, whether you’re studying exciting.
financial regulation in the
relevant financial regulation and possible Joe
financial sector.
breaches or interviewing people to
get a clearer picture of what has gone Felix
on. You’ll gain a great understanding
of our legal framework as you work on
high-profile cases and make it clear to Who works in Enforcement?
perpetrators and beyond that there are
real consequences for those who don t Graduates joining us in
meet our standards. Enforcement often have:
Our Enforcement programme can • great analytical skills
set you up for a career that has a • an ability to build strong relationships
real impact, as you develop your
• good communication skills, both face to
understanding of the market, the face and in writing
behaviours of consumer victims and
the extent of the FCAs’ powers to • an ability to work to deadlines
take action where we see potential • good forward planning skills
misconduct.
Sound like you?

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OPERATIONS
Operations provides the platform and
tools to help the organisation deliver on
it’s statutory objectives. We have an
exciting Operations strategy and
transformation agenda to ensure
continuous improvement and growth.

Operations works in partnership with If you like variety, Operations is the

the rest of the organisation to provide division for you, with opportunities in:
specialist support across a wide range of
areas. Our vision is to:
• Communications – setting and
delivering the FCAs
’ communications
• drive operational excellence and and engagement strategy
resilience across the FCA,
• Facilities Management – setting
• deliver quality services and support and managing the FCAs’ working
across the business; and environment strategy Think you’ve got
• be trusted strategic partners that bring • Finance – managing the FCAs
’ budget what it takes?
solutions to the table to develop and and finances
shape the FCA. Apply if you:
• Legal – providing legal guidance
In Operations, you’ll learn how to build throughout the FCA • want a career at the heart of the business
strong relationships with people from • Operational Resilience – setting and
• are comfortable with challenging the
across the entire organisation and will gain ’ first line of defence
delivering the FCAs status quo
an understanding of the wider business. • Procurement – delivering value for
No matter which area you work in, you can money and reducing risk throughout • have strong analytical and problem-
Our graduate programme is for solving skills
push yourself beyond your comfort zone, our third-party supplier network ambitious people who want to make
safe in the knowledge that you have all the a difference and shape the FCA’s • bring great communication skills, both
support you need to grow. future. If you’re looking to develop written and verbal
professionally, and you care about
• are good at building strong relationships
the efficient running of businesses,
this is the place for you. • are eager to learn

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HUMAN RESOURCES
Our HR team is ambitious and provides the
business with confidence and expertise. It gives
support and offers services across a range of
areas. We have an exciting people strategy and
HR transformation agenda to ensure the
organisation delivers it’s objectives.

Our graduate programme is for their people decisions with our HR

ambitious people who want to make Business Partner team, and support
a difference and shape the future of salary benchmarking exercises,
the FCA. Throughout the programme manage change projects, or support
you’ll be able to implement real the delivery of our annual employee
change, working alongside our expert survey. In addition to challenging and
HR colleagues as you plan for and varied work, we’ll support you to study
shape the future of the FCA. for your professional qualifications
with the CIPD.
You’ll have the chance to work on
a variety of projects and teams, This programme is a great opportunity Interested?
ranging from analysing Management to learn the fundamentals of HR and
Information (MI) and providing insights how to drive transformational change Join us today if you’re...
with HR Strategy & Policy, to running in an evolving world. • a great influencer
assessment centres and attending
careers fairs with Resourcing &
• customer-centric

Talent. You could help divisions on • data confident

At the FCA, • have a passion for change
you need to be a • strategically minded
proactive, resilient
• future focused
individual with a
strong desire to • a consultative
problem-solver
succeed.
Fran

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SUMMER INTERNSHIP TRAINING

If you’re still studying but want to gain some We offer all of our graduates extensive
work experience in the finance industry, our training to help you get the most out of
summer internship could be perfect for you. your time at the FCA. Each graduate
who joins us receives a bespoke
Over 10 weeks, you will gain insight into both the FCA and financial services, development programme,
working with some of the brightest minds in the industry. You will see what we do
and how we work, build your knowledge and earn a competitive £24,000 salary which includes:
(pro rata) while you do it. By the end of the programme you will be equipped with
everything you need to decide whether a regulatory career is for you.

• interpersonal skills training

• technical training
• an opportunity to study
towards professional
qualifications aligned to
your role
• a CEO challenge, which
involves working in a small
team to develop a project that
will make a sustainable impact
in the local community
• You’ll also have access to the
FCA Academy for further
development and learning
opportunities.

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BENEFITS
Your welfare is a top priority. As well as looking after
you, we want to reward you for your hard work.
When you join the FCA you will benefit from:

• a competitive annual salary of £34,000

• access to the FCA Academy
learning programmes
• career and family leave
• a non-contributory pension
• a minimum of 25 days’ holiday
• interest-free season ticket loans
• private healthcare
• free eye tests
• a subsidised on-site fitness centre
• flexible working options
• charity and volunteering initiatives
• access to sports and social clubs
• a reflection and multi-faith room
• a subsidised restaurant. We want students and graduates from all
backgrounds and walks of life to join us – it • register application
really doesn’t matter what subject you study. • online strengths-
based assessment
We’re looking for talented people who want to make a real
difference and who share our values. Ambition, integrity and • online motivational
inclusivity are traits we would like to see in your application. questionnaire
If you’re interested in applying, visit • telephone interview

www.fca.org.uk/careers/early-careers • assessment centre.

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www.fca.org.uk/graduate

@TheFCA

Financial Conduct Authority