KPMG cuts through complexity for young recruits: Programs attract talent from a wide range of backgrounds

Abstract

Purpose

Describe how KPMG in the UK has expanded its school-leaver and apprenticeship schemes to give more young people the chance to experience working life in the areas of auditing, taxation and business advice.

Design/methodology/approach

Explains the reasons for the programs, the form they take and the successes they are achieving.

Findings

Rreveals that KPMG welcomed 71 school-leavers on to its 12-month paid work-experience program last year, increasing the intake from 25 candidates the year before. The company also welcomed 32 new apprentices to its business-support academy scheme, following a successful pilot involving seven apprentices the previous year.

Practical implications

Describes how the Star program offers talented school-leavers who have just completed their A-levels or equivalent the opportunity to gain 12 months of paid work experience, while the apprenticeship program offers 16- to 24-year-old apprentices the opportunity to spend 13 months working in various functions across the firm. Apprentices obtain first-hand work experience and exposure to the business while completing a National Vocational Qualification (advanced tier 3) in business and administration through the firm’s training partner, BPP Training.

Social implications

Explains that the drive to recruit trainees into KPMG is part of its long-term recruitment strategy to attract talented people from every walk of life.

Originality/value

Points out how KPM’s programs are helping young people to fulfill their potential and succeed in a company that they would not necessarily have had the opportunity to join through conventional means.

Citation

(2015), "KPMG cuts through complexity for young recruits: Programs attract talent from a wide range of backgrounds", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 13-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-12-2014-0155