Goldman Sachs runs 12-week Returnship and EMEA degree apprenticeships for re-entry

Goldman Sachs operates two structured routes into and back into the firm: a paid, 12-week Returnship for professionals restarting their careers and multi-year degree apprenticeships in EMEA that begin September 2026 in London and Birmingham. The firm’s apprenticeship copy names specific degrees and partner universities and sets an application opening date of October 1, 2025.

A LinkedIn post by Janine Glasenberg announcing the 2025 Goldman Sachs EMEA Returnship Programme calls it a “paid, 12-week initiative” designed to “empower experienced professionals re-entering the workforce after a career break.” The post carried 316 likes and nine comments and linked to a London-labelled page. Commenters asked whether candidates outside London can apply and included at least one confirmation of application from “Brittany Eaden MSc.”

Publicly available summaries and career guides describe the Returnship as a paid, full-time, 12-week placement that places participants across divisions. A Researchbunny scrape describes the program as a “paid 12-week, full-time professional commitment” and lists U.S. location metadata for an Americas application link, while a careers blog, TheInterviewGuys, says the program runs annually from January through March and places participants in technology, risk management, operations, and finance.

Eligibility and outcomes differ by source and require clarification. TheInterviewGuys reports the Returnship “requires two or more years away from full-time work” and contends program graduates “often move into managing director roles within five years.” That same blog also lists U.S. cities such as New York, Dallas and Salt Lake City as Returnship locations and notes application cycles that closed in August 2025 for a 2026 cohort and typically open in spring for the next cycle. Researchbunny’s scraped metadata includes a November 1, 2025 deadline and a “partially funded” tag alongside repeated references to the program as “paid,” producing conflicting labels on funding and timing.

For students, Goldman Sachs’ official apprenticeship copy sets out three EMEA tracks with concrete degree and university pairings. An Operations Degree Apprentice will study for a BSc Finance & Investment at the Walbrook Institute London and “complete an apprenticeship within Goldman Sachs Operations.” A FICC and Equities apprentice studies Applied Finance at Queen Mary University London, and Engineering Degree Apprentices study Digital and Technology Solutions at Queen Mary in London or the University of Warwick in Birmingham. All apprenticeship descriptions state apprentices can “graduate with a bachelor’s degree … with the potential opportunity of a full time position with the firm.” Start Date is listed as September 2026 and eligibility is for students looking to start an undergraduate degree in September 2026.

Regional distinctions and conflicting metadata remain salient. The LinkedIn post references a 2025 EMEA Returnship in London, Researchbunny describes an Americas listing with U.S. deadlines, and TheInterviewGuys supplies broader timing and outcome claims that are not in Goldman Sachs’ employer copy. Open questions for confirmation include whether the EMEA Returnship requires two or more years away from work, the definitive funding model for Returnships, exact application windows by region, and verification of conversion statistics cited by the careers blog.