Professional services firms widen their horizons in a bid to recruit more graduates

Graduates who are flexible and keen to learn are in demand by major accounting firms, who are offering better pay and turning to TAFE to find the next generation of workers.

Graduates in hot demand by the major professional services firms are seeing strong increase in salaries as a growing number of opportunities available within the industry comes at a time when fewer students are finishing university.

Major firms say they are expanding out of their traditional recruiting fields of commerce, business and accounting and increasingly looking at those in tech, humanities and even TAFE in a bid to lure talent into the professional services field.

Firms have told The Australian that today’s recruiting environment meant it was less about what a graduate had studies and about other attributes they can bring to the table including soft skills such as being flexible, ambitious and have a willingness to learn and adapt.

Data from The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that full-time student numbers dropped by 8.7 per cent in 2022. Figures for 2023 are due to be published in November. KPMG head of talent attraction Rob Dunderdale said fewer students attending university had made competition between professional services firms “extremely competitive”.

“That is creating the perfect storm when we are no longer just competing against the big four firms, but also medium-sized companies who are expanding and taking on more graduates,” he said.

“We’d have a chat with anyone regardless of their degree and background to see if we can find the right fit.”

Increased competition meant that salaries for graduates were rising at a much faster pace, with EY Oceania talent acquisition lead Elena Mazur adding that firms were having to increase engagement to ensure prospective employees did not go astray.

EY Australia has looked at recruiting TAFE students into their graduation program. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

“The last couple of years salaries have increased significantly. It had been steadily rising for 20 years, but in the last two years there has been a very big jump because of the competition,” she said.

“Just recruiting someone is no longer enough with more than half will keep exploring other opportunities, so we are having to keep them engaged to actually have them starting.”

Not all firms disclose minimum salaries, but KPMG revealed that graduates will be paid anywhere from $65,000 in its external audit division to $73,500 in data and tech, while the most recent data from Deloitte showed a minimum pay rate of $67,000.

The Australian reported the top 10 tech firms in the country were annual graduate salaries ranging from $147,000 to $350,000 in 2022. First-year lawyers in Sydney can start on $97,000, according to a survey by The Aussie Corporate in January.

Deloitte Australia chief human resource officer Tina McCreery said that firms were also having to compete for talent not just across the professional services profession, but also banking and finance institutions, start-ups, technology firms and government.

In addition, BDO chief people officer Peter O’Sullivan told The Australian that increased diversification by firms into areas including data, cyber security and forensic services meant that business, commerce and accounting degrees were no longer just in the mix.

“We have stepped up our recruitment as we view graduates as being of strategic importance for future of the firm as they are partners and leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

EY Australia recognised that fewer Australians were attending university because of costs or that the education might model not be for them, Ms Mazur said.

“Traditionally EY has only looked at degree backgrounds but now we are exploring alternative pathways including TAFE — not just to help us fill roles, but to also get a diverse workforce,” Ms Mazur said.

Deloitte Australia has set up partnerships with the University of Wollongong, Swinburne University and NSW TAFE to create a Cyber Academy offering a degree apprenticeship in cyber security as part of its plans to access talent early on.

KPMG head of talent acquisition Rob Dunderdale said graduates are ambitious and want to know where their career will go.

KPMG, which has graduate applications open until September 3 also targeted graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds and women to create a more diverse workforce, Mr Dunderdale said.

“We want to recreate diversity inside the firm to match what we see in the fields we serve. We have programs that recruit those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as well as to get more women in tech,” he said.

KPMG also used gamification methods to assess whether a student’s ability aligned with that of the firm.

“We are looking for someone with potential and a learning mindset. We want to know that how you approach the transition from degree to an environment where you need a lot of upskilling and want to do that,” Mr Dunderdale said.

“Graduates that join are ambitious and want to know what their career will look like at KPMG. They don’t want to just know what it looks like in the first year, but also what step 2, 3 and 4 look like too.

At EY, Ms Mazur said that while all firms were looking at way to get a diverse workforce including different education backgrounds and experience, soft skills that graduates offered were important.

“We look for people who have a willingness to learn, enthusiastic, want to try things, are flexible and agile as you have to be in this day and age,” she said.

At Deloitte, Ms McCreery said: “Some of the competencies we assess include self-awareness, resilience and the ability to embrace change, the ability to learn and apply new information quickly, willingness to collaborate within a team, organisational skills, ability to analyse problems and communication skills.”

And at BDO, Mr O’Sullivan said that firm was targeting graduates who were not just “competent and can do the job”, but also if they were a fit with the company culture and clients.

Competition for graduates comes at a time the number of domestic students attending university fell 10 per cent in 2022.

“People skills are so important and being able to problem solve too, especially with the sort of work that we do,” he said.

Firms were also adapting their recruitment process to align more with values that were of importance to Generation Z. Ms Mazur said that EY had pivoted towards having applications open all year round because unlike Millennials, Generation Z were not patient.

“They see something pop up and want to do it now. If you make them wait two months then there is a good chance they’ll move on and find something else,” she said.

There was also a great emphasis on social activities within the workplace because Covid-19 had disrupted the university experience for many candidates and recent graduates.

“Personal connections to their own peer group is very important, and that is something that we have been focusing on, in terms of how we build that sense of connection and belonging to the firm and the cohort as a whole,” Mr O’Sullivan said about what BDO had noticed. “They enjoy being part of a group that we group with in the firm.”

Mr Dunderdale said that Generation Z graduates were also focused on the impact that the firm had on society, as well as a diversity, equity and inclusion.