10,000 applications and 63 graduates: Suncorp Graduate Program 2025 kicks off

2025 is off to an impressive start with Suncorp’s 2025 Graduate Program cohort now officially onboarded in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland.

This year, the insurer received close to 10,000 applications – the biggest number of submissions received to date.

Out of thousands of applicants, a final 63 Graduates were successfully recruited to become Suncorp team members and are now several weeks into their program journey.

An award-winning Graduate Program

The popularity and success of Suncorp’s Graduate Program has been recognised across the industry. 

Suncorp was named a ‘top graduate employer’ in the following rankings:

Evolving the program to respond technological advancements and to meet the needs of the next generation.

Suncorp’s Graduate Talent Lead, Kelly Pfeffer, has been working closely with the business in recent years to evolve the program to meet the needs of the next generation of talent.

“The success we have achieved this year has taken some time to put into motion, particularly in a market that can change quickly,” Ms Pfeffer explained.

“As a centralised team that designs and delivers every aspect of our Intern and Graduate programs, we have a unique advantage in being across everything from attraction through to promotion. Each phase informs the other and provides a holistic experience for our grads and interns.”

While Technology (50% of Graduates) and Insurance (25% of Graduates) roles continue to be the insurer’s focus, Suncorp continues to invest in developing talent in People and Culture, Finance and Risk (25% of Graduates).

To support its talent recruitment strategy, Suncorp sponsored the Suncorp Technology Award in the Top 100 Future Leaders Awards, with the winner announced in Sydney recently.

“The sponsorship of this award is a great opportunity not only for us to meet some top talent, but also to stand out from our competitors in the market,” Ms Pfeffer said.

“Within the Technology teams there is a focus on software engineering and cyber security degrees, but we still have opportunities for non-technical degrees as well for Business Analysis and Project roles,” she said.

Participation from Suncorp senior leadership supports the ongoing success of the program.

Strong support from leadership is also essential to delivering a successful program each year. Leaders at Suncorp play a critical role in providing day-to-day support, education and mentoring to Graduates and Interns.

“Our program would not be as successful without their commitment to developing the next generation of talent in our business,” Ms Pfeffer said.

Meet a 2024 Graduate – Jessica Ao

Jessica Ao is one of the 2024 Suncorp Graduates and is currently rotating in the Brisbane Procurement Systems team, after recently graduating with a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Communications.

As a graduate, Ms Ao said the two-year Suncorp Graduate Program appealed to her because of the opportunities to rotate between different functions of the business.

“The flexibility in being able to rotate throughout the Graduate Program every six months was a key component of why I applied. Coming straight from University, it has been great to explore what different opportunities are out there.”

Ms Ao explained she was initially surprised at how welcoming the Suncorp team had been, including senior leaders.

“Everyone is friendly and approachable. It can be daunting finding your way around a new workplace, but everyone I have worked with so far has made the experience extremely enjoyable.

“I am grateful to the leaders who contribute to the program by onboarding and supporting Grads in their early careers.”