Business in the Community (BITC) have today announced that KPMG is one of their Best Employers for Race in a new listing of 65 public and private sector organisations who collectively represent the best employers for
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in the UK.  The firm demonstrated the impact its inclusive workplace programmes have had on recruitment and its commitment to improving the talent pipeline for BAME employees through the 360 degree leadership development programme “GROW”.

KPMG has also been awarded the Business in the Community Workplace Equality Award for recruitment. KPMG is committed to being the clear choice for talented individuals, and entry level recruitment plays a large part in this.  In 2014 the firm recognised that there was more that could be done to attract and hire BAME talent through the firm’s student recruitment processes. To address this KPMG identified key areas of change which included attraction, outreach, programme design and selection process. The same year the firm set stretch diversity target zones which included recruitment for BAME graduates and school leavers.

The KPMG360⁰ apprenticeship scheme was introduced shortly after, the programme has since been particularly successful in attracting applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds who may not have otherwise been able to access the profession. Since the introduction of these initiatives the percentage of offers made to BAME graduates has increased by more than ten percent, and offers made to BAME school leavers are up by more than thirteen percent.

KPMG in the UK’s Head of Inclusion and Diversity, Kirsten Fox, comments: “It is an honour to be listed alongside other organisations who are putting inclusion at the heart of their business agenda. We know that employing a diverse workforce is an important part of what makes us the clear choice for our people, our clients, and our communities. Whilst we are extremely pleased to receive this ranking, we know there is much more to be done to ensure barriers to both entry and progression are broken down for all employees regardless of their background. KPMG is committed to promoting the importance of a diverse workforce in order to push the conversation around equality at work forward, and recognition such as this helps to enable us to be a true magnet for all talent.”

Graduate trainee, Olu Odubajo, who is reverse mentoring KPMG’s managing partner, Philip Davidson, on what it means to be a young BAME individual starting out in business, says of the listing: “When considering a prospective employer it was extremely important for me to apply to an organisation that places inclusion at the heart of its business. I am proud to work fora firm that understands the benefits that diversity brings, and being given the opportunity to mentor someone as senior as Philip, and help him to understand the issues that affect BAME colleagues so that we can take action now and not later, has shown me that KPMG is leading from the top on this issue.”

Sandra Kerr OBE, Race Equality Director at Business in the Community, said: “Congratulations to KPMG on being named in the first ever Best Employers for Race listing and as a winner in Business in the Community’s Race Equality Awards. The firm is taking a comprehensive and strategic approach to tackling racial inequalities within their organisation and has shown its strong commitment and leadership on this issue. I hope more employers will follow their examples of best practice and take part in the 2018 listing. If employers truly want their workplaces to reflect the clients, communities and customers they serve, the time to act is now.”

For more information, contact:

Angela Pink

Communications Executive

0207 694 2679

07500100257

Angela.pink@kpmg.co.uk  

About KPMG in the UK

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 22 offices across the UK with approximately 13,500 partners and staff.  The UK firm recorded a revenue of £2.07 billion in the year ended 30 September 2016. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. It operates in 152 countries and has 189,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity.  Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.