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Supporting students at school or college
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Right now, your students are at a critical stage in their lives, with lots of options and opportunities available to them.

Do they decide to start their career, go to university or have a blend of both?

Perhaps they want to explore new opportunities or consider gaining some insight into the working world. You know they'll have to start work at some point, but when is the right time, and what is the right path? Whatever they choose, it has to be right for them.

We understand that making important decisions for their future and submitting a strong application can be a daunting task. That’s why we think it’s important to support you with information about the full range of opportunities available to them, so that you can help your students make the choice that’s right for them and provide the best possible chance of success.

Helping you to support your students in making the right decision about their next steps

There are many ways in which we can support you and your students:

  • Understanding the options on offer to young people at PwC - including the benefits of, and differences between, apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships and degree programmes. We offer all of these programmes at PwC.

  • Finding out what PwC does as a business and what a role with PwC might look like - read some of our profiles here.

  • Providing support and guidance on the recruitment process, application and assessment deadlines and how best to prepare - find out more here.

  • Offering support and guidance through skills based sessions which will help to boost confidence and deal with worries or concerns.

  • Supporting your students with preparing to join PwC and the working world.

  • We'll be supporting them along the way with information, coaching, and feedback, but one of the best ways you can help is by offering general support and encouragement. We hope that these pages will aid you in having some background information to help you do this.

At PwC there are three entry routes on offer to students; a full-time graduate or undergraduate work experience position, partnership degree programmes (including degree apprenticeships), or full-time school and college leaver programmes. All routes offer the same deal; the opportunity for them to grow as individuals, to meet new people, kickstart their career and build lasting relationships that will stay with them for life. Their hard work will be rewarded with our programmes offering a competitive salary, the possibility to work flexibly through the ‘Deal’ and, in most cases, a personally tailored benefits package. And there's no limit to how far they can progress, regardless of their chosen route.

Encourage your students to:

  • Thoroughly research the different options and routes available and locations they could be based in.
  • Search our events list and attend one of our virtual or in-person events. This is a fantastic way for your students to find out more about us, the skills we look for and to have the opportunity to meet with our people. Click here to search our events.

Offer to proofread their application form – while the form itself is simple, accuracy for all the information they provide is essential, so a second pair of eyes could be useful and can also boost their confidence.

Make sure your students are familiar with our application process and the types of assessments we use at each stage, have a look at our Employability Hub for further insights into the different stages of our selection process. Our e-learns focus on each stage of the selection process and can really support students with knowing what to expect and how to best prepare and also provide practice tests. 

Talk to them about recent news stories and the business impact of these. Provide some business media at home or in the classroom; discussing these helps them to develop their understanding of the business world and form their own opinions, which is something they’ll need to thrive at PwC.

Help them to research the skills we look for and encourage them to think about how they can demonstrate these behaviours during assessments.

Encourage your students to make the most of the onboarding support we provide. Our pre-joiner events offer a great opportunity to meet with other new joiners and staff from the business.

Ensure your students feel comfortable about the required travel for the role, especially if they’re relocating or moving out of home for the first time.

Talk to your students about anything they’re unsure about, and point them in our direction to answer any questions they might have.

Encourage them to make the most of any opportunity provided to speak with a school leaver currently on one of our programmes at PwC. All of our new joiners will be assigned a ‘buddy’, who they can ask questions to before and after they join and they can also connect with us at our pre-joiner events.

Programmes

School and College Leaver roles: Tax, Consulting, Operate (NI only)

How long does the programme last?

A two year, fully paid training programme at PwC, followed by a permanent role and further progression opportunities aligned with graduate entry routes. All programmes include studying towards a nationally recognised professional qualification and the Consulting programme carries an apprenticeship qualification depending on the location.

What is the entry criteria?

96 or 112 UCAS points, dependent on the vacancy - this will be clear in the job description.

What professional qualifications are gained and what is the progression pathway?

  • Tax: Association of Tax Technicians (ATT) (Certificate for Accounting Technicians - ATI for Belfast roles) or Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB)

  • Consulting: You’ll complete the Junior Management Consulting Level 4 apprenticeship over two years

  • Operate: ATI

Depending on the route and role, further professional qualification opportunities are available following completion of the initial training period.

After two years there is the opportunity, subject to satisfactory performance, to reach the level of an incoming graduate and progress at the same rate from this point.

Please note candidates can only submit one application to a student recruitment position (school and college leaver, graduate and undergraduate) every six months, so encourage students to conduct thorough research on the roles available before submitting an application.

 

Flying Start Degree - Accounting

How long does the programme last?

Four year partnership degree programme (including integrated paid work placements at PwC in years two, three and four) followed by the opportunity to secure a permanent graduate job offer. Students will also work towards gaining the ACA qualification.

What is the entry criteria?

The universities differ in entry requirements. Please refer to the Flying Start Accounting web page for more information on this.

The Flying Start programme is available at Newcastle University Business School, Nottingham University Business School, Henley Business School at the University of Reading, The University of Manchester and Queen Mary University of London.

What professional qualifications are gained and what is the progression pathway?

Students will study modules that provide exemptions from 12 of the 15 ICAEW professional examinations, enabling them to become part ACA (chartered accountancy) qualified. PwC will provide support to complete the qualification upon joining full-time and students will also receive a full bachelors degree. 

After four years on this programme and upon satisfactory performance, students join us full-time at one grade ahead of a traditional graduate joiner. All students can expect to become ACA qualified within their first year as a full-time employee at the firm.

Which locations could I apply to? (pending availability)

Newcastle University Business School, the Nottingham University Business School, Henley Business School at the University of Reading, The University of Manchester and the Queen Mary University of London.

Please note that students can apply for all five university degree programmes if they wish, each will take up one of their UCAS choices. They will only sit one assessment with us for this programme, no matter how many universities they apply to.

At PwC, the development and wellbeing of our people is paramount and we’re delighted to be able to award a substantial bursary to support our students that meet our eligibility criteria, full information available on our website.

Flying Start Degree - Business Management Apprenticeship

How long does the programme last?

Over a four year course students will gain a full degree whilst working full time in our Operate business in our Belfast office, as well as receiving a monthly salary and fully-funded university tuition. Find out more here.

What is the entry criteria?

Students will need to have at least a 112 UCAS tariff from up to three full A-Levels (or equivalent), and a Grade C or 4 or above in GCSE (or equivalent) English Language and Mathematics. To receive the funding for the apprenticeship they’ll also need to meet the requirements of the Higher Level Apprenticeship within Northern Ireland.

What professional qualifications are gained and what is the progression pathway?

Students will attend university on a day release basis studying towards a degree, BSc Hons Leading on Customer Operations at Ulster University Business School and upon graduation they can then continue to progress at PwC.

Which locations could I apply to? (pending availability)

Ulster University Belfast

 

Virtual Insight Programme

During the three day virtual programme students will gain an insight into PwC and the world of business whilst enhancing their employability skills. Our Virtual Insight Programme takes place in the summer, exact dates will be shown on this webpage when we open for recruitment each year, with a full choice of live and recorded sessions, so that students can choose the content most relevant to them.

What is the entry criteria?

Students must be in either Year 11 or 12 (Year 12 or 13 in Northern Ireland and Year S4 or S5 in Scotland).

If they’re in Year 12 (Year 13 in Northern Ireland,S5 in Scotland) they’ll need to be on track for 96 UCAS points across their top 3 A Levels or equivalent in any subjects.

If they’re in Year 11 (Year 12 in Northern Ireland, S4 in Scotland) they’ll need to be on track to achieve a minimum of 5 GCSEs, or equivalent (including English Language and Maths) at grade 4 or above.

Which locations could I apply to? 

This programme is open to all eligible students across the United Kingdom and is run virtually.

Graduate vacancies available in: Actuarial, Audit, Consulting, Deals, Risk, Tax and Technology

How long does the programme last?

Graduate programmes typically last between two and three years, dependent on the role. Undergraduate work experience programmes are available from three days through to an 11 month placement.

What professional qualifications are gained and what is the progression pathway?

Actuarial: Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA)

Audit: Associate Chartered Accountant ACA/ Chartered Accountant (CA) /Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)

Deals: Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA)

Tax: A number of qualification routes including  Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CiPD) and Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). Please check individual job descriptions.

Technology: N/A

Consulting: No formal qualification but opportunities to gain qualifications after graduate programme

Risk: Some of the opportunities within Risk include study towards the ACA/CA qualification and some don’t include study towards a professional qualification.

Once students have completed their graduate programme, progression to manager and beyond will be dependent on job performance.

Which locations could I apply to? (pending availability)

Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Gatwick, Watford, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Reading, Southampton.