Business advisory firm PwC has welcomed 29 graduates, higher apprentices and school leavers to its East Midlands office in Castle Donington.
This year’s autumn intake also includes 152 recruits at PwC’s Birmingham office and 25 in Milton Keynes, totalling a record 276 new joiners across the Midlands.
PwC said some 44 per cent are from minority ethnic backgrounds, 40 per cent are female and 38 per cent have come from households where neither parent has completed higher education studies. Nationally, the firm has recruited over 1,300 graduates.
The recruitment figures also include 70 undergraduates onto PwC’s degree programmes with the University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham.
It said 34 students had joined the Flying Start programme – a degree course run in conjunction with PwC, ICAEW, University of Nottingham Business School, University of Reading, Newcastle University and the University of Manchester Business School – which allows students to study at university, as well as gaining practical paid work experience with PwC.
In addition, 36 students joined its fourth cohort of the technology degree apprenticeship programme with the University of Birmingham, where students enjoy a fully-funded degree, work placements with PwC and employment beyond.
Ali Breadon, market senior partner for PwC in the East Midlands, said: “We are delighted to welcome our annual intake of graduates, higher apprentices and school leavers to our East Midlands office.
“We are committed to offering opportunities to those at the outset of their careers by helping them develop relevant skills for our changing economy.
“We recruit local talent from a diverse range of backgrounds, because we want to actively invest in the next generation of future leaders from our region.
“We are also committed to inspiring young people in the region in an increasingly digital world, showing them the breadth of technology careers and how technology is used in all walks of life in a more inclusive way.
“This also reflects the critical and growing role of new technologies to our business and our clients and underscores our commitment to regional growth and supporting regional rebalancing.
“It’s also pleasing to see how our ‘Class of 2021’ have already adapted so well to our new hybrid way of working.”
More than 200 students joined ‘Flying Start Accounting’ degree programmes in the last financial year, bringing the total number of students on this programme to around 650.
Its ‘Flying Start Financial Bursary’ is available to students across all of PwC's accounting degrees. Successful applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds will be supported with the day-to-day costs of university life through a £10,000 bursary split across their four-year degree.
