PwC guarantees employment offers for school leavers

PwC’s UK wing has issued a statement to candidates for its school and college leavers programme, guaranteeing their places. PwC will take on the new cohort of trainees even if they fall short of the grades previously required.

Laura Hinton, Chief People Officer at PwC commented, “We’re very aware of the disruption caused to education by the pandemic and the additional pressure it’s put on students studying for their A-levels. By removing grades as a prerequisite for acceptance this year, we hope to provide some certainty and reassurance.”

PwC had offered more than 100 students for its 2021 intake of school and college leavers. The initiative is one of the ways the Big Four firm has boosted social mobility in its firm in recent years, and offered access to the professional services industry beyond graduates – giving people the opportunity to train and take professional qualifications while earning.  

Depending on the role, usually between 96 and 112 UCAS points would be required for young people looking to join the scheme. However, due to the fact that some students will have been impacted by the pandemic more than others, this year PwC determined that it would be more fair to grant entry to the programme to all students who successfully made it through the selection process, regardless of their A-level results.   

The announcement is in line with another separate PwC announcement, after the firm’s research revealed that that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have been further disadvantaged by the pandemic. As the same time, the study found that the public expects businesses to play a key role in widening job opportunities to support post pandemic recovery, including providing non-graduate routes into employment, mentoring and improving skills.

Alongside the school and college leaver programme, PwC also works with several universities to provide apprenticeships and degrees as another alternative to graduate entry. While the universities have strict quotas on cohort sizes, entry requirements can be flexed for candidates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds by up to two grades lower than the standard requirement.

Late in 2020, PwC topped the Social Mobility Foundation’s annual Top 75 ranking of UK employers for the second year running. The firm was joined by Grant Thornton, KPMG, JLL, Accenture, Capgemini, and FDM Group from the professional services industry.