EY dominates table of best school leaver employers
KPMG is the only Big Four firm to fail to make the Top 60 entirely
EY has been voted the UK’s top company for apprenticeships and school leaver programmes, by a survey of young people already employed on such schemes.
The Big Four firm emerged victorious in the latest RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk’s annual table of the best school leaver employers.
Based on ratings and voted for by the young people already employed on the programmes – EY pipped Big Four rival PwC to the number one school leaver employer spot, with PwC coming in 8th spot, some seven positions higher than Deloitte in 15th.
KPMG failed to make the Top 60 entirely.
EY employs over 100 under 25’s on its training programmes at any one time and secures its win based on reviews submitted from students on everything from how valued they feel in the company to how much they earn.
Maggie Stilwell, EY’s managing partner for talent in the UK and Ireland, said: “Our number one ranking is a great achievement and it demonstrates just how much our trainees and interns value their experience with us.
“We have invested heavily in our school-leaver programme since its launch three years ago, and a key part of that has been listening to and acting on feedback from our trainees, as well as involving them in shaping their own training and development.
“This not only helps us to stay competitive, but also ensures our trainees are prepared for a successful career in business.”
BDO was voted 18th best employer, just three places above Grant Thornton. Mazars made it 51st place.
Ollie Sidwell, co-founder of RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk, commented: “The Top 60 Employers table is a great chance to celebrate and reward those companies that are leading the way in this area and really providing opportunities for the next batch of talent, across the UK. In the last year EY has demonstrated their commitment to their school leaver programmes and the benefit it has, not only to the company, but to their industry as well. EY has become a great role model for companies looking to do the same.”
Research commissioned to coincide with the league table showed that more than 50% of parents and teachers agree that companies should be given compulsory targets for the number of under-25 apprentices they take on.
Resources & Whitepapers
Accounting Software The power of customisation in accounting systems
When asked who has the most responsibility for recruiting young people on to the various work-based training schemes, 32% of pupils, 50% of parents, 44% of teachers and 48% of businesses said that this responsibility lies with employers.
However, it isn’t just businesses that need to be doing more; there was also an agreement from parents, students, employers and teachers that schools are not currently doing enough to inform pupils about non-traditional routes into employment (51%).
The research also showed that 59% of the public believe that recent moves to give apprenticeships and related schemes the same status as university degrees will lead to a general rise in their success in attracting school leavers.
Due to the increase in the availability of apprenticeships, school leaver programmes, sponsored degree programmes, gap year programmes and work experience schemes, RateMyApprenticeship has expanded its table of top employers from 30 last year to 60 in their latest table.
Those included in the Top 60 Employers Table have been drawn from over 2,500 reviews written by students. The table ranks organisations that have at least 10 reviews on the website.