How to get a job at Deloitte: It doesn’t care which university you went to
If you're a school leaver who missed out on getting a place at Oxbridge, worry not – for accountancy giant Deloitte has become the latest City institution to say that as long as your qualifications are ok, it doesn't care which university you went to.
The company said it wants to rid its halls of "unconscious bias", in which well-meaning recruiters subconsciously hire people they see as academically or socially superior.
Deloitte will partner with Rare, a diversity recruitment specialist, to hide information about applicants' schools and universities. At the same time, it wants to make sure it recognises that, for example, those who achieved "three Bs at A-Level in a school where the average student achieves three Ds" is identified as "exceptional performance".
"We want to show that everyone can thrive, develop and succeed in our firm based on their talent, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another. This includes an individual’s social or economic background, which we know continues to be used to hold some people back," said David Sproul, Deloitte's chief executive.
Deloitte isn't the first accountancy giant to launch such a scheme: in May PwC ditched its A-Level requirements for new recruits, saying that it was missing out on talent from disadvantaged backgrounds.