NatWest Group

Banking / financial services · researched 2026-09-30. Processes change every year, so confirm on the employer's own page.

Programmes and entry

Level 6 Financial Services Professional Apprenticeship (Senior Relationship Management and other degree-level roles) (Level 6, equivalent to a degree but does NOT include a degree (BA/BSc)) · England only (degree-level), London (2025 technology/relationship roles reported)
Relationship Management / Customer Service / Digital / Data apprenticeships (lower levels) (Below degree level (no formal qualifications needed for most)) · Various incl. Aberdeen

80 UCAS points (A Levels or BTECs in England; Highers or equivalent in Scotland) for degree-level apprenticeships. · Degree-level apprenticeships England only. No formal qualifications needed for most non-degree apprenticeships. source

Opens Spring (rounds open once a year). The official page currently says no programmes are open and the next round opens Spring 2027. · A 2025 thread shows the London degree apprenticeship vanished within a day of a candidate planning to apply the next day, so apply in the first 24-48 hours. Candidates who finished the assessments were still waiting for news after a few weeks. source

Process, stage by stage

1. Apply

Apply via Workday (account needed). A few fit questions and an uploaded CV including qualifications you are studying.

Apply on opening day: roles can close within a day.
Put current A-levels/BTEC grades on the CV as instructed.

Official source source

2. Work scenarios assessment (SHL (candidate-reported for the tests))

Real-life work situations to show how you use the core skills and behaviours NatWest wants; about 20-25 minutes, but you can take as long as you need. Candidates call it a situational judgement test and received an alignment report (one candidate 'strong alignment'). · about 25 min

Answer as you would truly behave, using the NatWest Behaviours as a guide.

Official source source

3. Online ability test (degree-level only) (SHL (candidate-reported))

About 10 minutes, problem solving and numeracy; practice tests in the help option inside the platform. Candidate report: timed at 11 minutes for 10 questions, penalised for not finishing, problem-solving as much as calculation. · about 11 min

Pass through to the skills assessment if successful.

Take the platform's practice tests first; candidates said practice saved them.
Watch your pace: 10 questions in about 11 minutes.

Official source source

4. Online skills assessment

Untimed, usually about 20 minutes. For each item you choose which of three statements describes you most in a home, work or education situation. · about 20 min

Stay consistent; pick the statement that really fits you across contexts (home, work, education).

Official source source

5. Pre-recorded video assessment

Timed recorded answers to pre-recorded questions; mix of motivational, competency and scenario-based questions; ~20 minutes. Candidates differ on difficulty: one said 'standard questions', another did not think they were general. · about 20 min

Prepare motivational answers about relationship management/your role plus 2-3 STAR stories.
Practise a scenario answer aloud.

Official source source

6. Interview

Invited once assessments are passed. Every job is assessed against NatWest's Behaviours. Third-party guides say a virtual assessment centre (group exercise, role play, interview) may apply to some early talent routes; the official apprenticeship page lists an interview only.

Map each example to a NatWest Behaviour.
Be ready for a role play or group discussion if the invitation says so.

Official source source

7. Pre-employment screening

Managed by a case handler after an offer.

Official source source

Online assessment: SHL (candidate-reported on Student Room for 2025 Senior Relationship Manager DA)

Work scenarios assessment (SJT): Situational judgement on work situations · 25 min · 20-25 minutes, untimed in practice.
Ability test: Numeracy and problem solving, timed · 10 items · 11 min · Candidate-reported 10 questions in 11 minutes; official says about 10 minutes.
Skills assessment: Choose the most-like-me statement from 3 options for home, work, education situations · 20 min

Three-step online battery before the video interview. The SJT uses short workplace scenarios and outputs an alignment report with the NatWest Behaviours. The ability test mixes arithmetic and multi-step problem solving (percentages, rates, tables) under tight time. The skills assessment is a most-like-me forced choice among three statements. Third-party prep sites say NatWest uses a 'Job Focus' assessment for graduates that mixes behavioural statements and interactive reasoning; that is not confirmed for apprentices.

Official source source

Video interview

Pre-recorded, timed answers, about 20 minutes; motivational, competency and scenario-based questions.

Official source source

Assessment centre

Official apprenticeship page does not list one. Third-party guides describe a virtual assessment centre (welcome, business case study/group exercise, behavioural interview) for early talent schemes.

Inferred, unverified source

Final interview

Interview after assessments; assessed against NatWest's Behaviours. A prep guide says interviews typically combine situational and competency questions and run up to 30 minutes (unverified).

Official source source

Values they assess against

NatWest assesses every candidate against its 'Behaviours' (names not listed on the apprenticeship pages) · Purpose: champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive · What NatWest says it looks for: proactive, curious people who build relationships, manage priorities and use accurate information to solve problems

Questions candidates report

Pre-recorded video assessment: Standard motivational/competency questions, including a scenario question. One candidate found them 'nothing special', another found them not general. Several candidate reports source
Online ability test (degree-level only): Timed numerical problem-solving test: 11 minutes for 10 questions, penalised for not finishing. Single report source

Advice for this firm

Apply within a day or two of the Spring 2027 opening: London/DA roles disappeared within a day in 2025.
Do the ability test practice inside the platform first; candidates say the 10-question, about 11-minute test penalises unfinished attempts.
Use the skills assessment consistently: pick the statement that genuinely describes you in home, work and education settings.
Expect a Level 6 Financial Services Professional qualification, which is equivalent to a degree but does not award a degree; decide whether that suits you before applying.
Research the 'Behaviours' on the NatWest careers site before the video stage and use their exact wording in examples.
Only degree-level applicants in England qualify: check you meet 80 UCAS points.

Not verified

Names and definitions of NatWest's Behaviours (official page refers to them but does not list them).
Format of the final interview/assessment centre for apprentices (official page says only 'interview'); virtual assessment centre claims come from prep sites for graduate/intern routes.
Verbatim video interview or interview questions: none retrievable (Glassdoor blocked; TSR 2025 thread says only 'standard').
Which vendor runs the assessments is candidate-reported only (SHL).
Number of items for work scenarios and skills assessments.
2026-27 outcome timings; next round is Spring 2027.

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