Business and finance adviser Grant Thornton has welcomed 21 trainees to its Birmingham office, one of its largest local intakes on record.
Twelve graduates and nine A-level school leavers are embarking on new careers working within Grant Thornton’s audit and tax services in the city while studying for a range of professional accountancy qualifications.
David Hillan, practice leader at Grant Thornton in Birmingham, said: “Each of these budding business advisers impressed us with their energy, drive and passion. We’re particularly pleased to welcome so many school leavers this year, which emphasises just how many more young people are choosing professional firm apprenticeships over higher education. We work hard to build and maintain a market-leading experience for trainees and this allows us to compete successfully for talent in a very competitive market place.
“Four years ago Grant Thornton took the decision to remove academic barriers to entry, opening up a new pool of talent and increasing opportunities for a more diverse range of people. We were one of the first professional services firms to do this, as we realised that the best people might not always be the most academic but may have other great skills to offer the firm and our clients.”
Grant Thornton has recently been ranked top employer in the Social Mobility index, a joint initiative between the Social Mobility Foundation and the Social Mobility Commission in partnership with the City of London Corporation. It is currently ranked top accountancy firm to work for by Glass Door, one of the UK’s fastest growing jobs and recruiting sites, and is named as one of the 50 most attractive employers in the world in an annual survey of more than 290,000 business and engineering/IT students by employer brand specialist Universum.