South East: KPMG outlines its socio-economic make-up

KPMG has published detailed workforce data outlining the socio-economic make-up of the firm. It is the first business in the UK to publish such comprehensive data, including employees’ parental occupation and education and the type of school employees attended. KPMG has also included graduate and school leaver socio-economic data from the past three years.The information underlines the efforts being made by the firm to ensure a more diverse talent pipeline.

The majority of the workforce – 74% of respondents – received a state school education, of which 60% attended a non-selective state school and 14% a selective state school.  23% received private education.  The remainder were educated outside the UK. Detail on parental education shows that 48% have a parent or guardian with a university degree, while 43% do not. 58% have parents in a higher managerial, administrative and professional occupation, 16% have parents employed in a manual occupation and 11% have parents in intermediate occupations.

Of around 1,000 graduates and 250 school leavers to join the firm in 2016, 11% and 18% respectively had been eligible for free school meals.

Karen Witton, regional chair for KPMG in the south, said: “When we talk about diversity, people immediately think of gender or race, but social background is equally important.  Professional-services firms have often been cited as bastions of the so called social elite and it’s important we consign this stereotype to the past. We recruit from a wide range of schools and universities and while we do require a level of academic ability, we need personal qualities such as adaptability and curiosity, to help our clients analyse and respond to complex challenges.

 “We have rethought the way we recruit, introducing new entry routes into the firm for those who want to join us earlier and learn at work rather than university. These figures help us to assess the progress we are making.”

KPMG worked closely with experts at the Bridge Group, who advised the organisation on the most relevant data points to measure social mobility and analysed the data, delivering a statistical overview.

Nicholas Miller, director of the Bridge Group, said: “Understanding workforce diversity is essential to underpin any activity aimed at improving it, and this is most complex in relation to socio-economic background. KPMG has undertaken the most comprehensive collection of workforce data of any business to date.”