Deloitte’s BrightStart programme offers a real alternative to university

With A-level results being announced today, Deloitte’s BrightStart Higher Apprenticeship programme is an option for students who want to make the leap into the world of professional services and start to earn while they continue to learn. The BrightStart programme offers around 300 students* the chance to gain a professional qualification while getting started in the world of work, helping to solve some of our clients’ trickiest problems from the outset.

Georgia Greer, Head of Student Recruitment, Deloitte
Georgia is responsible for leading the student recruitment function at Deloitte. The firm hires over 2,000 students per year across its schools and undergraduate entry routes, and into 22 locations across the UK.

“Firstly, congratulations to all students receiving their results today. It’s a big day, and an important one in terms of where they decide to go next. For some, the option to start their career now is increasingly appealing and an apprenticeship programme, like our BrightStart Higher Apprenticeship programme, might be a great fit.

“The programme can switch on your potential and create a brilliant career. Whichever professional direction you take, you’ll get to work on some exciting projects that have a real impact on our clients’ businesses. We’ll teach you all the skills and knowledge you’ll need to do your job.”

Case study
For 20-year-old Samuel Imie, from Forest Hill in south London, choosing an apprenticeship over university was purely a financial one. “My focus was always on starting my career early, getting to work with real people and building up my networks,” he said.

Having completed a week’s work experience at Deloitte after his AS levels, he discovered that Deloitte had an apprentice programme for school-leavers and applied. Now in his third year as a Deloitte apprentice, he hopes the next step will be to qualify as a certified systems tester.

“Every day I’m working with real clients and getting actual work experience. I haven’t looked back once,” he said. “There’s a partner at Deloitte who started as an apprentice at another firm. It shows it can be done and that there’s no barrier to rising to the top.”

Julie Mercer, Head of Education Consulting, Deloitte
Julie is the Global Industry Leader for Education and the UK Lead Partner at Deloitte working with government, private and third sector organisations involved in designing, delivering or supporting the education system.

“The choices for young people picking up their A-level results today are more diverse and more exciting than ever before. Businesses like Deloitte now offer direct routes into a career with a focus on learning and development. Our Brightstart Apprenticeship programme develops technical skills and places you in the world of work more quickly. Here you will acquire the ‘21st century skills’ needed to secure the jobs of tomorrow.

“As the Skills Minister Anne Milton suggested this week, while a traditional degree is right for many people, others may just want to get stuck into work as quickly as possible.”

End

Notes to editors

*Deloitte’s entry requirements for BrightStart are 104 UCAS points and GCSEs in five subjects including Maths and English Language, grade 4 or above (formally grade C or above). The length of programme typically varies from around 3-5 years depending on business area.

For more information on Deloitte’s student programmes please click here. 

About Deloitte
In this press release references to “Deloitte” are references to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”) a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NWE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

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