The Scheme is for voices we want to hear more of in publishing. Could yours be one of them?    

Make your mark by spending six months between January – July 2026 working with the best at the number one publisher in the UK. You’ll immerse yourself within one of our key business areas, learning the ropes, taking ownership of projects and contributing to our mission to make books for everyone.  

Whatever team you’re placed with, you’ll gain universally applicable skills that will equip you for wherever you go next. We’ll teach you about all publishing and Penguin, and support you to make the next steps in your career journey.

The Scheme is for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If you meet this eligibility criteria but perhaps you’re changing careers, don’t have a degree, or haven’t often seen yourself reflected in publishing, we’d love you to apply! Whatever your gender, background, or community, we want to hear your story.

All trainees are paid £25,500 per annum (equivalent to £12,750 for the six months of the traineeship). We also offer a travel bursary for those commuting from outside of London.  

Eligibility criteria  

You’ll need to have a pre-existing right to work in the UK for the duration of the traineeship as unfortunately we are not able to offer visa sponsorship. You don’t need a degree, you just need to be over 18.

To achieve our mission to make books for everyone because a book can change anyone, we are seeking out new voices. To apply, you’ll need to identify as from a lower socio-economic background.

We use parental occupation at age 14 to measure this as the Social Mobility Commission suggests it to be the most accurate measure available to assess socio-economic background, as well as being accessible to those from all nationalities.  

To apply for The Scheme, at age 14 your highest-earning parent/guardian was not in management and was employed in one of the following categories:   

• technical and craft occupations such as motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver 

• routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter or waitress, bar staff 

• unemployed (claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance or earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year) 

We recognise these are broad categories that may not fully reflect  the many hundreds of jobs out there, or exactly fit your family situation. Please use your judgement when self-identifying.     

 Our application process  

Stage 1 - No need to spend ages crafting the perfect CV and cover letter – to apply to The Scheme, you will answer three short questions on an inclusive hiring platform called Applied. We’ll ask you about three of the core qualities or universal skills that we’re looking for in all of our trainees. In this application form, we’ll also ask you to tell us your top 3 preferences of the roles available on this year’s programme. We will anonymously score answers to determine the highest scoring applicants. Information about available roles and the link to the application form will be added to this webpage on Monday 13th October.

Stage 2 - The highest scoring applicants will be contacted via email and assigned one of your top 3 project preferences. This is the role you will be interviewing for. You will be invited to complete a short video task on the HireVue platform, where you will answer a few questions about your skills and interest in the role. Based on these submissions, we will select the finalist candidates for each role.

Stage 3 - The finalist candidates for each role will be invited to our online Learning and Selection Days. Over two days (2nd and 3rd December), you will complete an individual interview and a group task, assessing the core qualities we are looking for in our trainees, as well as your interest in the role and team. 

If you have any further questions about the programme or recruitment process, please contact us at PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

We will provide reasonable adjustments to those with a disability at all stages of the recruitment process and encourage any requests that will make the process more comfortable for you    

For further information and the application link, please see our website.  

Application deadline: midnight on Sunday 26th October 2025 

Using AI in your application

At Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. As you apply, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team. Here’s how you can use AI tools effectively while ensuring your responses reflect your true self: 

  AI could help you to: 

• Get inspiration: AI can help you brainstorm ideas and structure your thoughts, but ensure the final content is your own 

• Check for consistency: making sure your answers align with your personal experiences and the assessment qualities we are looking for.  

• Proofread and edit: Use AI tools to refine your language, check grammar and spelling but always review your answers to ensure they sound like you 

• Research and prepare: AI could help you to research our business and books, or come up with some example interview questions to help you prepare for meeting the team (just make sure to check for accuracy!) 

• Format your responses: we recommend using a Situation, Task, Action, Response (STAR) format for written and interview question responses. AI could help structure your answers into a concise format 

AI should not be used to: 

• Write your entire responses: we start to notice a pattern of similar and generic answers that lack your personal touch and don’t stand out as unique to the person assessing you (who is reviewing hundreds of applications!) 

• Generate fake scenarios: hearing about your real-life experiences helps us ensure we're the right match for one another, and authenticity is key to making a strong impression! 

• Copy and paste: avoid copying AI-generated text directly into your application. Modify and personalise it to reflect your own voice and experiences 

• Help you in a live assessment: unless discussed as a Reasonable Adjustment with a recruiter in advance, AI should not be used to help you in live interviews or group tasks