BrazilPwC Middle East well underway to meet ambitious graduate intake
PwC is well on its way of meeting its new ambitious goal for graduate intake, with over two thirds of the planned 500 graduates now onboarded within the organisation’s different lines of service.
When the Big Four accounting and consulting firm earlier this year released the regional version of its global ‘The New Equation’ strategy, it was clear that growth stood out as one of the main objectives for the coming period. Today, PwC Middle East has a headcount of around 6,000 people across 12 countries. Fast forward to 2026, and that number should by then have roughly doubled.
Part of this growth plan is the hire of 500 new graduates every financial year, with particular focus on the firm’s fast-growing lines of business. Two months into its current 2021/22 financial year, which runs from the summer of 2021 to the same period next year, the firm has taken a large stride in realising this goal with the onboarding of 326 graduates.
“This is a record intake for PwC and represents a substantial contribution to our yearly graduate hiring target. It demonstrates our commitment to The New Equation,” said Hani Ashkar, Senior Partner of PwC Middle East.
Last year, PwC onboarded close to 300 new graduates in its post-summer intake, while the year previous, 322 new faces were welcomed.
This year’s graduates included 122 recruits in Saudi Arabia, making up to 37% of the total intake, around 90% of whom are Saudi nationals, additionally more than 80% of the total graduates are Arabic speakers. Notably, more than half of all graduates were female.
“We are proud of our new graduates and are committed to enabling them to unlock their full potential by developing differentiated capabilities. Our graduates will join a community of solvers, fuelled by the ambition to make a difference and met with our continuous learning opportunities and reimagined ways of working to lead more balanced lives,” said PwC Chief People Officer for EMEA and the Middle East, Mona Abou Hana.
The 2021 cohort of graduates have been deployed across all of the different lines of service, with the Consulting division the largest beneficiary.
The 326 fresh recruits have meanwhile received their (virtual) induction, and will be provided an extensive training & development program as well as career counselling as they progress the early phases of their career. Ashkar: “Our graduates represent the future of our firm and our region, and we are enabling them with development and upskilling opportunities to be the leaders of tomorrow.”
