How AI is forcing the Big Four to rethink graduate training Big Four The Big Four giants – KPMG, Deloitte, EY, and PwC – have for decades played an important role in shaping the next generation of City workers. As one of the largest graduate trainers in the UK, their approach to restructuring graduate programmes in the age of AI will be crucial to the future of financial [...]
UK jobs seekers rise despite recovery in permanent hiring Economics Rising redundancies and heightened employment insecurity drove a sharp increase in UK job seekers in August despite the permanent hiring market showing its first signs of recovery in nearly four years. Total staff availability rose at its fastest rate in three months as Brits hunting for roles flooded the market. This influx was triggered by [...]
The Debate: Is university now a waste of money? Opinion As graduates struggle to find jobs, let alone those that are well paid, is university still worth the cost? We hear the case for and against.
The common sense deficit hitting the City’s professional services firms September 2, 2026 The rise of AI has put serious pressure on professional services firms to figure out hiring and training strategies as an industry built to sell knowledge faces a knowledge gap as a new era enters the workforce with skills very different from the cohort ahead of them, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. Much of the conversation about [...]
Graduate jobs market slumps to new low August 24, 2026 The UK’s ailing graduate jobs market has slumped to a record low as employment costs surge and firms turn to AI for entry-level roles. The number of graduate vacancies in Britain fell 45.6 per cent to 8,383 in the year to July, undercutting the previous low set in May, according to recruitment firm Adzuna. This [...]
Businesses slam brakes on hiring over Burnham uncertainty July 13, 2026 The UK’s lofty tax bill and concerns surrounding the direction of an Andy Burnham premiership have led to a subdued jobs market, new research suggests, as employers pause hiring whilst they wait for further clarity on the likely incoming Prime Minister’s tax policies. Available jobs in London slumped five per cent in the second quarter [...]
Debt-saddled grads ‘risk earning less than minimum wage’ five years after leaving uni June 8, 2026 For nearly half of all university courses, those in the bottom quarter of the cohort end up earning less than minimum wage five years on from graduating, according to a new report on the outcomes crisis in higher education. The think tank Policy Exchange has found that rampant grade inflation and an explosion in university [...]
Employers think Gen Z has forgotten how to work – are they right? May 13, 2026 Over half of UK employers are worried about Gen Z behaviour and professionalism. Here’s three things they can do, according to Eliza Filby ‘Why won’t our graduates just pick up the phone?’ is the most frequent complaint I hear from leaders. It may be the point of most frustration but it’s far from the most [...]
A generation risks being put off university just when we need graduates most April 8, 2026 Current public debate, with headlines about student debt, graduate underemployment and a supposedly collapsing graduate jobs market risk the impression that university is no longer a worthwhile investment When Daniela Amodei, co-founder of world-leading AI firm Anthropic, was asked recently whether she regretted her English literature degree, her answer was unequivocal: no. In fact, she [...]
Graduates are the canary in the coalmine for a failing welfare system April 7, 2026 The welfare state is a Ponzi scheme that’s dependent on an ever shrinking cohort of taxpayers, says Anne Strickland Discussion about student loan unfairness has dominated the headlines over the last month, after a freeze in the repayment thresholds led to a backlash about the student loan system in general. With fiscal drag pulling more [...]