A growth environment for reskilling

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Our people are our business and that is why we continued to invest in the skills they use to deliver for our clients. From AI to inclusivity, it’s been a year of growth for everyone.

Our people telling our story

Avni Mashru | Char Srahan | Richard Boafo | Crawford Roark

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In a year of change for our firm, we focused on helping our people adapt and grow. We invested in reskilling for future challenges, with an emphasis on responsible AI to keep everyone at the forefront of rapid advances in technology.

We are proud to foster an inclusive culture, recognised for our diversity and social mobility actions. Enhancements to our wellbeing initiatives and our commitment to a safe, supportive workplace aim to ensure that everyone can thrive, no matter their background.

“We are proud to foster an inclusive culture, recognised for our diversity and social mobility efforts.”

A place to succeed

"This year, we’ve made strategic investments to help our people reskill for current challenges and future changes."

£2,141

Spend on learning and development
per FTE

The way we operate day to day is rapidly changing, both for PwC and the organisations we work with. This means we need to provide our people with the learning opportunities and coaching to upskill and reskill, helping them to adapt and grow more quickly than ever before. By doing so, we empower our people to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our clients, who rely on us to help them solve new and important problems.

This year, we've made strategic investments to help our people continue to reskill for current challenges and future changes. Recognising the need to lead differently, we’re also placing more emphasis on the behaviours we expect everyone to demonstrate. We're shining a spotlight on how we deliver, as well as what we deliver.

We've established a community of full-time Talent Coaches, whose sole role is to support the performance, career development and wellbeing of our junior colleagues.

As a skills-led employer, when it comes to recruitment we focus on embracing diverse skills and experiences, allowing us to better serve our clients and communities. And we’re proud to have been named The Times Top Graduate Employer, highlighting our commitment to attracting and nurturing the best candidates from all backgrounds.

We’re also evolving our offices to create state-of-the-art spaces that enhance productivity and a sense of community where our people and clients can come together to collaborate, innovate and learn.

Gender data

Women account for 48% of our total workforce.

Please use the navigation menu to view a more detailed breakdown.

Female % FY24

48%

Female % FY23

47%

Male % FY24

52%

Male % FY23

53%

FY23 diversity headcount figures have been restated to align methodology.For FY23 SEB data only, inaccuracies have been corrected.Please note, percentages shown may not total 100% due to rounding.Further detail on pay gap data is available in our diversity pay report.

Lean into learning

48.4

In FY24, our people spent an average of 48.8 hours on learning and development programmes.

We’re encouraging all of our people to embrace the opportunity to grow their expertise in GenAI, positioning themselves at the forefront of this technology to make a difference for our clients, whatever their role or grade.

This year we committed to getting a GenAI tool into the hands of everyone. Recognising that its benefits are best realised with proper guidance, responsible use, and understanding, our people were first required to complete training in this transformative technology.

Additionally, we remain focused on ESG upskilling, offering in-depth training in areas such as sustainability reporting, sustainable business transformation and addressing climate action.

We aim for our people to feel supported in their career progression to become inclusive leaders of the future. Even in challenging market conditions, we continue to offer offsite leadership programmes across all grades.

"We can unlock value from GenAI by fostering an environment where we use it to become a supportive partner for our clients, our business and our people, augmenting how we all deliver our human-led, tech-powered approach."

How we’re using regional growth to improve social mobility

Our presence in cities across the UK gives us access to a broader talent pool, and brings us closer to our clients. It is also a powerful lever to tackle inequality in social mobility coldspots like Bradford, and support growth in areas like South Wales.

Driving change in communities

49.4%

of PwC’s people are based outside
of London

At a regional level, Wales, and Yorkshire and the Humber have the lowest levels of output per hour worked compared with the UK average, with both regions at least 15% less productive than the UK average.

In our Framework for Growth, we said that ‘left unchecked, future employment will grow in the more productive regions, but not necessarily where it is needed most to level-up the UK economy; unless there is targeted investment, regional and local disparities will continue to grow.’ Social mobility is a key lever to reduce inequality and minimise regional variation.

The private sector has a crucial role to play in closing geographic skills and productivity gaps, and our presence across the UK enables us to drive change in the communities we live and work in.

“PwC’s school’s strategy offers activities to secondary school and college students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to support skills development and raise aspirations.”

Lord Steve Bassam BitC Place TaskForce Chair

Opportunities for all

29%

of new recruits in Bradford are aged under 20

Investing in our regional footprint is key to the way we operate and engage with our clients, and as the UK’s top-ranking social mobility employer, we are keen to focus our growth in places where it will do most to improve outcomes for young people from underrepresented backgrounds.

When we opened our first Bradford office in 2019, we saw untapped potential in the city, which has the youngest workforce in the UK. In Cardiff, we are more established, having opened our first office there 92 years ago. In 2020 we based our second managed services centre in the Welsh capital, kickstarting a programme of headcount growth in digital and tech jobs.

In FY24, we made two significant announcements which underline our commitment to growth in both these cities.

In October 2023, we announced a significant expansion in Cardiff. Working with the Welsh Government we are putting in place a community engagement programme focused on improving skills, opportunities and access to careers for people from diverse backgrounds. We have delivered bespoke skills programmes to schoolchildren in the Welsh language and continue to provide employment skills support to the Welsh Refugee Council.

And in January 2024, we cemented our commitment to Bradford by signing the lease to become the anchor tenant at One City Park, a brand-new landmark building in Centenary Square. The building will enable us to more than double our headcount in the city, provide much needed employment opportunities, broaden the gate for entry into professional services locally, and contribute to sustainable, inclusive economic growth and skills development.

Investing in talent

47%

of Cardiff recruits are from ethnic minorities, lower socio-economic backgrounds or have disabilities

Our investments in Bradford and Cardiff have enabled us to attract talent from a broader range of backgrounds; in Bradford, 52% of our people come from ethnic minority backgrounds and 29% of our new recruits in FY24 are aged under 20. New joiners from ethnic minorities, lower socio-economic backgrounds or with disabilities made up 47% of everyone who joined our team in Cardiff this year.

Our outreach programmes - especially those for schoolchildren - are shown to improve outcomes; research shows that a young person who has four or more encounters with an employer will do better at school, and after graduating will be 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, and will earn 18% more.

Inclusion and diversity

"As we navigate ongoing change and uncertainty, we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where there’s opportunity for all."

3,999

More than 4,000 people have engaged with our Great Minds (Don’t Think Alike) training.

In times of constant change and uncertainty, societal inequalities often worsen. Amid these challenges, we remain committed to fostering an inclusive environment for everyone, where there’s opportunity for all.

Our Inclusion First approach prioritises the everyday experiences of our diverse workforce. By understanding different perspectives and addressing obstacles in recruitment, career development and progression, we have created our Inclusion and Diversity plan that focuses our efforts for greater impact.

This year 40% of our newly promoted partners are women and 22% are from a Black, Asian or ethnic minority background (at 1 July 2024). Increasing representation at senior levels is key to closing our pay gaps; further information on our pay gaps can also be found in our Diversity Pay Report.

This year, we developed the Great Minds (Don’t Think Alike) training programme to build better understanding among our people of neurodiversity and what it means to be neurodivergent. Our dedication to disability inclusion was recognised at the 2024 Disability Smart Awards, where we won the Disability Smart Inclusive Workplace Experience award for this programme.

Our commitment to social mobility continues to be strong. For the third time, in 2023, we were named the number one UK employer in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2023, underlining our dedication to creating opportunities for all.

We are also proud to have been recognised as a The Times Top 50 employer for gender equality for the 14th consecutive year.

Investment in the regions, including our new office space in Bradford, positions us for future growth by tapping into rich and diverse pools of talent.

Average hours training
per employee by grade

48.8

average

Average hours training
per employee by gender

Female

47.7

Male

49.8

Spend on learning and development
per FTE

£2,182

Training hours represent all completed sessions recorded on the firm's formal learning management system including those completed by individuals who have left the firm during the reporting period. This information does not take into account the time spent on Professional Qualifications by any member of the firm.

Fostering a culture of wellbeing

In our ongoing commitment to fostering a health-promoting workplace, we create an environment where our employees can be their authentic selves, thrive, and perform at their best.

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting a health-promoting workplace, we’re creating an environment where our employees can be their authentic selves and perform at their best.

In our 175th anniversary livestream, we explored the evolution of workplace wellbeing including the opportunities brought by AI and ways to tackle the stigma around mental health. This year, we trained 126 new Mental Health First Aiders, expanding the total to 569 of our people, who work alongside 20 partners and directors serving as Mental Health Advocates, all providing essential support and guidance.

We’ve also enhanced the support we offer to those impacted by domestic abuse with safe paid leave and emergency accommodation to escape an abusive situation. Our people can be confident that appropriate care and empathy are quickly accessible to anyone personally affected by domestic abuse.

Creating psychological safety has been a priority and this means we are mindful of the messages we share, particularly when it comes to distressing global news. As part of this, we offered listening sessions for those who feel affected by global conflicts, with the opportunity to come together to discuss in a safe environment.

Since signing the Working with Cancer pledge, we’ve reaffirmed our commitment to employees living with or caring for others with cancer through developing a comprehensive Working with Cancer Toolkit and creating peer-to-peer support networks.

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