UNLESS you’d spotted its logo on a Formula One racing car or read its advertising at international airports, there’s a very good chance that you wouldn’t even have heard of Accenture before you started your studies. And yet the company has been ranked as the “employer of choice” in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for five of the last nine years.

Formed just 16 years ago by partners from the former Arthur Andersen accountancy firm and originally known as Andersen Consulting, Accenture has grown rapidly to become one of the world’s leading consulting companies and a major recruiter of graduates in the UK.

Management consultancy has long been a popular destination for university-leavers, but much of Accenture’s appeal as an employer has been built through extensive on-campus marketing campaigns at the UK’s top universities.

Although the majority of opportunities at the company are described as “consulting” and offer suitably competitive starting salaries, few are in the much sought-after area of strategy. Most graduate vacancies are instead in outsourcing, technology or in one of the company’s operating groups.

Accenture is open about the challenges of a consulting lifestyle. Client projects can be based anywhere in the UK, or beyond, which means that consultants have to be willing to travel and stay away from home, sometimes for extended periods. Despite this, there is a strong focus on work-life balance with schemes for flexible working, up to six weeks’ annual leave, and the chance for career breaks of up to a year to pursue interests outside work.

The training and development offered varies according to the business area that graduates join, but most follow the analyst training programme which includes about 300 hours of formal training in the first two years. The highlight for many is a fortnight at the St Charles Training Centre in Chicago for a core consulting skills course with trainees from around the world.



Martin Birchall is editor of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers


ACCENTURE

What does it do? Accenture is a global technology services, management consulting and outsourcing company that employs more than 100,000 people in 48 countries. It is one of the UK’s most successful graduate recruiters.

How many graduates does it need? In 2005 there were at least 600 vacancies in consulting and IT roles.

Where are the graduate jobs? Mostly in London, with a few vacancies in Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh.

What will graduates earn this year? A starting salary of £28,500 plus a very generous benefits package.

What’s the competition like? Consulting firms typically receive between 25 and 100 applications per vacancy.

The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers is based on research with more than 15,000 final-year university students. Order the latest edition from Times Books First for only £11.99 (RRP £14.99). Call 0870 1608080 or visit www.timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy

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