A total of 56 students are set to start at the University of Birmingham this month as part of the fifth intake of KPMG’s audit school leavers programme.
The scheme sees 120 recruits joining the programme as a whole, 15 of whom will be placed with KPMG’s Birmingham office at One Snow Hill.
At the same time 11 graduates from the 2011 intake of the programme are starting work full time in the Birmingham office, working their way towards their chartered accountancy qualification.
This year’s school leavers are embarking on a five year programme comprising of a degree course at either Birmingham or Durham University, together with client work experience throughout their degree programme.
Post-graduation they will continue a combination of work and study to obtain a professional accountancy qualification.
Mike Steventon, Midlands regional chair for KPMG, said: “I am immensely proud that our audit school leavers programme is enabling so many talented young people to join our team in Birmingham.
“Whether they are joining us full time this year or have just started on the programme, they are the future of the firm.
“The programme is an excellent training ground for a career with KPMG, offering a mix of study and work experience, enabling the students to get holistic, in-depth knowledge and experience of auditing from day one.
“The fantastic results achieved by our first intake, who are just starting full time with us now, are a great omen for the success of the programme in the future.”
Rachael Tratt, who has just graduated from Exeter University in the first cohort of the audit school leavers programme and is starting work at KPMG’s Birmingham office, said: “The KPMG school leaver programme was a great way to apply the knowledge I was learning at university to real life scenarios.
“I have now earned a salary for the past four years, finished my degree, gained a significant amount of experience in the workplace, and completed all but three of my professional qualification exams.
“I’m looking forward to finishing my professional qualification over the next year and continuing to work on the portfolio of clients that I’ve built over the past four years.”
