Job Summary

2026 Front Office Financial Markets Apprenticeship 2026 

Location: London 
  

Salary: £30,000 and £2,000 Relocation Allowance 

Start Date: September 2026 

Investing in your future   

Our Markets Apprenticeship is a two-year, paid programme for students who are curious about financial markets and want to start a career in banking without going to university.  

From day one, you’ll be part of a front-office Markets team, learning how we support our clients through trading and risk management. 

You’ll earn while you learn, gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment, and complete a fully funded, industry-recognised qualification alongside your role.  

What is Financial Markets?

Our Markets teams help clients buy and sell financial products, manage financial risk and access global markets. This includes areas such as: 

• Foreign exchange (FX)
• Rates and credit products
• Commodities and market-linked solutions. 
  
  

Markets sits within Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) and plays a key role in helping clients grow, manage risk and invest sustainably.  

What you’ll be doing 

During the programme, you’ll gain exposure to different Markets teams and supporting functions. You’ll: 

• Learn how global financial markets operate day to day
• Support teams with data analysis, market monitoring and reporting
• Help with daily activities such as trade booking and operational processes
• Attend learning sessions, briefings and insight events across the Bank
• Build strong communication skills through regular interaction with colleagues and stakeholders. 
  
  

You’ll rotate across teams to build a broad understanding of Markets and develop practical, transferable skills. 

How the programme works  

• Two-year rotational programme within Markets  
• Four six-month rotations across different teams 
• On-the-job learning alongside structured training 
• Completion of the CISI Investment Operations Certificate as part of a Level 4 apprenticeship 
• Support from managers, mentors and peers throughout. 
  
  

High performing apprentices may be considered for a permanent role at the end of the programme.  

What you’ll gain  

• Hands-on experience in a front-office Markets environment
• A strong understanding of how financial markets support clients
• An industry-recognised professional qualification, fully funded
• Confidence working with data, systems, and fast-moving information
• A strong foundation for a long-term career in banking. 
  
  

Who we’re looking for 

You don’t need previous finance experience. We’re looking for people who are: 

• Curious about how markets work and motivated to learn
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high expectation environment
• Logical thinkers who enjoy analysing information and data
• Clear communicators who work well with others
• Reliable, resilient and proactive

Eligibility 

To apply, you must:  

• Be studying towards or have completed A Levels, BTEC or equivalent (Level 3) 
• Have a minimum of 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English 
• Have the permanent right to work in the UK 
• Not be currently enrolled in or have completed a university degree 
  
  

If you are currently studying at university or already hold a degree, please explore our graduate opportunities instead.  

Applications 

Applications to this programme close on 6th March 2026. We recommend applying early.  

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us. 

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion. 

Together we: 

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What we offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.

Recruitment Assessments

Some of our roles use assessments to help us understand how suitable you are for the role you've applied to. If you are invited to take an assessment, this is great news. It means your application has progressed to an important stage of our recruitment process. 

Visit our careers website www.sc.com/careers