Graduates may lose job offer at KPMG as a result of marking boycott

Students who have secured places on competitive KPMG graduate schemes may lose their job offers as a result of the ongoing marking boycott taking place at almost every UK university.

A spokesperson for the firm told The Tab: “We are continuing to monitor the situation and will review options for those that might be impacted on a case-by-case basis, helping to minimise the potential impact as far as possible.”

Lecturers have been refusing to carry out marking and other assessment work like exam invigilation since April, leaving students without grades. This follows weeks’ worth of strikes earlier this academic year, as staff are in an ongoing campaign for better pay and pensions.

“If my place on the [KPMG] scheme was taken away I’d feel incredibly angry,” a final year student at Edinburgh who has no confirmed degree classification told The Tab. “I’d also feel quite helpless as I wouldn’t even know where to begin getting justice from the uni. I’m trying not to think about it being a reality, but it’s definitely possible.

“It seems as if different companies are handling the lack of grades differently, so it’s quite stressful trying to work out what the situation will be for me personally,” they added. “The uni is saying we will be awarded our degrees at ‘some point in the future’ but that’s no use for me when I’ve got to confirm my job offer in the next five days.”

The stress and confusion for incoming KPMG graduates comes after the other three Big Four firms, EY, PwC, and Deloitte, told The Tab they are contacting thousands of incoming graduates to “reassure” and “guarantee” them their jobs are safe, despite still not knowing what degree classification they’ve graduated with.

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“University leavers of 2023 have faced more than a degree of disruption,” said Kevin Ellis, chair of PwC. “First Covid, now the risk of delayed results. We want to make sure uncertainty about when they’ll start work isn’t another thing they have to worry about. This is about extra reassurance so students start the holidays with peace of mind.”

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