Graduates and students at Rio Tinto

Graduates & Students

Create tomorrow

If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it. Our Early Talent Programs allow you to shape Rio Tinto from the insight out. We want you to be a part of our team to help take us forward by solving the emerging challenges of our time. At Rio Tinto we believe the best ideas come from bringing people together with different perspectives to work toward a common goal – to create a better tomorrow.

  • Australia & NZ 2024 Graduate and 2023 Vacation Program
  • Australia Indigenous Scholarships
  • Australia Indigenous Cadetships
  • US and Canada Graduate and Internship Programs

Our programs provide a chance for you to explore new ideas and help us find better ways to work. You can shape our business by taking us forward and unlocking the opportunities of our future. If you have any questions you can refer to our FAQ sheet below as a starting point.

2024 Graduate and 2023 Vacation Program FAQs

Indigenous Graduate Flyer

Apply for vacation roles
Apply for graduate roles

Our Indigenous scholarship program is part of our commitments made through the Regional Framework Deed to Traditional Owner groups in the Pilbara, supporting Indigenous students who are studying at university in Australia.

Scholarship value: Up to $16,500 annually

Year of study: Any

Length of scholarship: For the duration of the undergraduate degree

Download the 2023 Rio Tinto Indigenous Scholarships flyer and the Indigenous Scholarship FAQs to learn more about the program.

Applications for 2023 now closed

We award Indigenous cadetships to outstanding Indigenous students who are studying at university in a discipline that’s transferable to the mining and metals industry (such as engineering, sciences, technology and humanities), and who aspire to work at Rio Tinto. Cadets have the opportunity to progress to employment through our vacation and graduate programs.

Rio Tinto partners with AFL SportsReady to provide mentoring and career support as part of the Cadetship program.

Scholarship value: Up to $16,000 annually

Year of study: Any

Length of scholarship: For the duration of the undergraduate degree

Download the 2023 Rio Tinto Indigenous Cadetship flyer and Indigenous Cadetship FAQs to learn more about the program.

Applications for 2023 now closed

We have roles open for exceptional Graduates & Interns to join our Early Talent Programs from a range of disciplines across different areas of the business. Take a look:

Apply for Canada-based roles
Apply for US-based roles
Graduate Julia

Most Popular Mining & Energy Employer – Award

We've been named “Most Popular Mining & Energy Employer” in Australia’s GradConnection Top 100 Graduate Employers Awards for the second year in a row.

Graduate development program

We’re looking for motivated students who want to reinvent tomorrow and make lasting change. We want you to help us shape the future of our company and industry.

Our two-year graduate program gives you the tools and skills to innovate and invent – to challenge the way we do things and help us find a better way.

Overview of our program

  • Year 1

    You’ll focus on:

    • Our strategy, value and behaviours
    • Building networks and relationships with team mates, leaders and technical experts
    • Resilience and emotional awareness, caring for yourself and others, connecting effectively with a diverse range of people
    • Our value chain and expertise of our commercial, technical and functional groups

    One-on-one coaching

    Practical support

    You’ll have the opportunity to work one-on-one with an experienced external coach who will give you practical support and tools to help you achieve your personal and career goals.

    Gamified leadership simulation

    A safe place to learn

    Through game-based learning, you can practice the skills leaders use every day. As part of the simulation, you’ll have the opportunity to lead a virtual team and set objectives, provide feedback and motivate the team.

    "Grad Talks"

    Insights from our leaders

    Starting a new role in a large and complex organisation like ours can be overwhelming. Through our grad talks, you’ll get to hear from leaders first-hand about their own experience at Rio Tinto, and see our strategy, values and projects in action.

    Mine to market showcase

    From the ground to the end product

    Subject matter experts from across the business deliver interactive sessions on key disciplines like closure, automation, orebody knowledge, processing, tailings, water and more.

  • Year 2

    You’ll focus on:

    • Collaborating with others, sharing ideas, innovating and developing new ways of working
    • Building curiosity, having an open learning mindset, adapting to change and being open to new and diverse ideas
    • Creating solutions to real-life challenges based on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals
    • Developing creative problem-solving skills
    • Being courageous, thinking and acting strategically, learning how to anticipate change and seize opportunity

    "Grad Talks"

    Spark your imagination

    Hear from futurists and external thought leaders on topics like globalisation, technology and innovation and creativity. These offer a chance to gain new perspectives from external thought leaders who will challenge your thinking, inspire you to look at things in a different way, and share leading practices from a variety of industries.

    Future skills masterclasses

    A learning experience like no other

    Work with external experts to learn new tools, methodologies and strategies to help you innovate and collaborate to create the best ideas and solutions. Then you can put what you’ve learned into action as part of the innovation project.

    Innovation project

    Deliver real-life impacts

    Whatever your passion – tackling climate change, automation, or creating value from waste – this is your opportunity to be creative and propose solutions to change the way we work – now and in the future. Work with other graduates using what your learned in our masterclasses to bring your ideas to life.

    Graduate festival

    Pitch your idea

    You and your team will pitch your final innovation project to a panel of internal senior leaders and experts. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate what you can bring to our business with your fresh and innovative thinking. Your idea could even be adopted by the business!

  • And access to a whole lot more

    There are a range of resources available to you throughout the two-year program:

    Learning resources

    Access to world-class digital learning resources via LinkedIn Learning and our Graduate Insights.

    Networking

    Collaborate with fellow grads via the Graduate Yammer group, Graduate Champions network or through our Coffee Roulette program, where you can grab a (virtual) coffee with people from all around our business.

    Mentoring and job-shadowing opportunities

    There are opportunities to connect with subject matter experts to help you grow your network and learn new skills and knowledge.

    Technical resources

    In addition to learning on-the-job, you can also access online courses, webinars and tap into our internal technical expert networks to deepen your technical knowledge.

How to apply

Applications for the graduate and student programs follow the university calendar in each region.

For graduate roles you need to:

  • have the right to work in the country where the position is based (citizens, permanent residents, student or postgraduate work visa holders)
  • have graduated with a relevant university degree and have less than two years of relevant work experience

For vacation and intern/co-op opportunities you need to be:

  • enrolled in a relevant university program
  • returning to university after the vacation placement/internship
  • in the country where the position is based
Hear from our graduates

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