20% of grads say accountancy makes best career
Three of the Big Four are best firms to work for, according to nationwide graduate class of 2005 study
One in five graduates believe that accounting firms offer the best career
opportunities after leaving university, according to a nationwide survey.
According to The Times Top 100 graduate employers’ survey, three of
the Big Four accounting firms were ranked as the ’employers of choice’ and
ranked in the top six for the first time.
For the second year running, PricewaterhouseCoopers was ranked in first place
ahead of former No.1s the Civil Service (2) and business consulting and IT giant
Accenture (3). KPMG remained in fourth position, while Deloitte climbed four
places to sixth, with Ernst & Young in 14th place.
Martin Birchall, survey director, said that it was ‘no surprise’ that the
2005 list was dominated by the Big Four.
‘Graduate vacancies for trainee accountants have increased by more than 60%
over the last two years and two of the leading firms are set to hire over 1,000
graduates each in 2006,’ he said.
Consulting firms IBM (16), McKinsey & Co (38) and PA Consulting (92) also
had a strong presence.
This year’s research was based on face-to-face interviews with 16,113
graduates who left UK universities in the summer of 2005. Graduates were asked
the question ‘which employer do you think offers the best opportunities for
graduates?’.