Big Four firms keen to grab graduates
Graduate opportunities at Irish banks might be drying up, but the Big Four accountancy firms are recruiting for 2009 with the same fervour as last year. And competition for places is heating up.
There's a distinctly frosty feel to graduate recruitment at Ireland's two biggest banks. Allied Irish Bank has cancelled its scheme entirely this year. Bank of Ireland has already asked half of the 116 students accepted on the 2008 scheme to defer their places until 2009, and has stopped taking any new applications, at least until early next year.
The Big Four accountancy firms - Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - have largely kept their graduate recruitment in line with last year's requirements.
Deloitte has 230-240 places for 2009, E&Y is taking on 150 graduates, KPMG has 300 spaces, while PwC is recruiting upwards of 250 people. The majority of roles are in audit, with tax, advisory and corporate finance positions also available.
Some of Ireland's smaller banks, such as Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and Anglo Irish Bank, are still taking on graduates, as are international firms like AIG and Lloyds TSB. However, the absence of the two big domestic players has left a large recruitment gap, and the accountancy firms are receiving an influx of applications as a result.
One head of graduate recruitment at a Big Four firm in Ireland tells us: "I would say we've seen a big upturn in the number of students applying this year. At the careers fairs we've attended, graduates have shown a lot more interest, and undoubtedly fewer options at the large domestic banks has resulted in increased attention on the Big Four accountancy firms."
Deloitte tells us it expects to receive 1,500-2,000 applications by the closing date on 23 October, which is a higher volume than usual.
Lorraine Toole, head of graduate recruitment at PwC in Ireland, adds: "Fewer graduates are moving to the UK because of reduced opportunities at investment banks there, which means more interest in places available domestically."
