PwC guarantees employment offers for school and college entrants regardless of A-level results

PwC UK has told candidates with offers to join its school and college leaver programme that their places are guaranteed even if they don’t achieve the grades previously required.

More than 100 students were made offers to this year’s programme, which is one of the ways PwC has broadened access to the firm beyond graduates. Depending on the role, 96 -112 UCAS points are needed to join the scheme, which gives people the opportunity to train and take professional qualifications while earning.  

Laura Hinton, Chief People Officer at PwC commented:

“We’re very aware of the disruption caused to education by the pandemic and the additional pressure it’s put on students studying for their A-levels. By removing grades as a prerequisite for acceptance this year, we hope to provide some certainty and reassurance. Given some students will have been impacted by the pandemic more than others, this year it feels fairer to guarantee entry to the programme to all students who have successfully made it through our selection process, regardless of their A-level results.”   

Separate PwC research reveals that the public expects businesses to play a key role in widening job opportunities to support post pandemic recovery, including providing non-graduate routes into employment, mentoring and improving skills. The research highlights that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have been further disadvantaged by the pandemic.

Alongside the school and college leaver programme, PwC also works with several universities to provide apprenticeships and degrees - the Flying Start programmes - as another alternative to graduate entry.  While the universities have strict quotas on cohort sizes, entry requirements can be flexed for candidates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds by up to two grades lower than the standard requirement.

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Notes to editors

PwC takes on around 1,500 people at entry-level each year. Over recent years we have deliberately changed the mix of our student intake to include more apprenticeships and school entry programmes. Please visit our student careers for more information.