Date published: 11 December 2025
For the first time, the leading housing provider has taken full management of the graduate programme in-house. This move shows Stonewater’s commitment to ensuring its trainees receive a tailored experience and are fully immersed in its core values of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Stonewater’s graduate scheme features a rotational programme, giving the five-strong cohort the chance to experience different directorates across the organisation during their 18-month placement.
This approach helps graduates develop a broad range of professional skills and gain valuable insight into the diverse career paths available at Stonewater and in the wider housing sector.
Departments included in the rotation are Development, Customer Experience, Software Engineering, Finance and IT. The graduates will also undergo a CIH Level 4 qualification during this time, highlighting Stonewater’s commitment to investing in future talent.
‘Routes into Stonewater’ proactively seeks to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups by collaborating with institutions, specialised companies and community organisations, both nationally and locally.
By partnering with higher education providers such as the University of the West of England (Bristol), University of East London, Birmingham University and Leeds University, organisations such as Circl and SCL, and encouraging applications from its customers, Stonewater ensured a competitive and diverse recruitment process.
Clare Mills is the Onboarding and Talent Lead at Stonewater and manages the graduate scheme: “Our graduate scheme is about much more than providing a career path – it’s about helping talented individuals discover the true diversity and positive impact a career in social housing can have. We’re proud that our Routes into Stonewater strategy provides strong foundations and support to make this possible.
“By taking the programme in-house, we’ve also been able to tailor every step to reflect Stonewater’s unique values and culture. This approach means we can recruit people with the right behaviours and backgrounds, support them in experiencing a range of roles across the organisation, and challenge outdated perceptions and stigma about housing.
“We want to nurture the next generation of passionate, skilled professionals who will drive innovation and lasting change for the whole sector.”
Our Graduates
This year, the programme attracted more than 100 applications, and was whittled down to a final five who will participate in the scheme until March 2027.
Umar Khan graduated with a degree in marketing and is currently working in Stonewater’s Customer Experience (CX) team:
“I’m enjoying how the scheme lets me try out different departments. After graduating, I wanted to find something that would give me varied experience and the chance to find out what I’m passionate about. The opportunity to try different roles at Stonewater is perfect.”
Zahra Faisal graduated with a degree in psychology and explored a career in human resources before joining the graduate scheme:
“The way the programme is structured and the fact that it’s 18 months and not just a year is fantastic. I’m gaining hands-on experience in areas like finance, which is so far beyond anything I’ve done before – I love that I’m not limited to one career path.”
Iman Sajid has a masters in Law, Ethics and Politics and was previously working at a local council as a customer service advisor:
“It’s important for me to work somewhere that is purpose-driven with strong values and I’ve found exactly that at Stonewater. There’s a vocational element, which is interesting; by doing the rotation, you can see how everything comes together for a common goal.”
Elizabeth Thompson studied Human Resource Management at University and worked for Stonewater in her last year. She was also Highly Commended in the Rising Star category at the Housing Executive Awards 2025:
“I wasn’t expecting to stay at Stonewater after university, but after working here for a while, I realised my values aligned. Having rotations and getting experience in lots of areas is invaluable; you can’t get that on another grad scheme.”
Edylan Liu has a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford and a masters in Comparative Literature and Critical Theories from the University of Birmingham. But her work experience for mental health services and charities, on top of studying, has brought her to this point:
“This experience has been really rewarding, due to the culture and the people I’m working with. The projects that we’re delivering align with my career goals. It’s also a journey of self-discovery because I’m learning to apply so many transferable skills.”
This is the fifth year of Stonewater’s graduate scheme. In this time it has recruited 38 graduates with nine securing fulltime roles within the company.
