School leaver applications rise

Grant Thornton has seen a significant increase in applications for its school leavers scheme, with the firm attributing the rise to the success of its social mobility drive.

The accountancy firm reported a 47 per cent increase in applications for its training programme for school leavers following a nationwide update to its recruitment process.

Grant Thornton said making a number of changes to its selection process, including the removal of academic barriers to entry, resulted in more than a quarter of new hires joining straight from school.

In Scotland, the business has welcomed 13 graduates and one school leaver ahead of anticipated growth across it offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

School leaver Katie Hall, from Dalziel High School, is the latest recruit to join the firm in Glasgow. The 17-yearold said: “I was attracted to Grant Thornton after meet- ing some of the team members who joined the firm in a similar way to me.

“I decided to go straight from school to my career because I wanted to get stuck in and develop my career immediately.”

Andrew Howie, Grant Thornton UK’S Managing Partner in Scotland, said: “By removing academic barriers and focusing on a wider set of skills, we’ve been able to open up a new pool of talent and increase opportunities for a more diverse range of people.”