The war for talent in the professional services sector is ‘very much alive’, according to Sonja Stockton, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ head of recruitment.

Stockton says: “Talented, enterprising people matching academic achievement with a confidence in their skills, an ability to learn and contribute are always in demand by our business, and mean the war for talent, for employers and recruiters alike is still very much alive.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has seen graduate applications rise by 88%, while 153 graduates have joined its spring intake, part of a 1,000-strong nationwide recruitment drive.

Over 2,000 graduates applied, which the firm says was due largely to management consulting vacancies being open in spring for the first time, with 40% applying for 30 management consulting roles in this intake.

Stockton adds: “We’ve increased the spring intake to accelerate graduates into growing areas of the business. The continued demand and interest in our roles from students and graduates alike shows no signs of tailing off, because they realise that when they join PwC, they are joining a university of business. The level of training, investment and support we give them, the quality of work, and the variety of career opportunities it opens up, means we’re becoming a ‘hot house’ for UK business talent.”