14th February 2005: Later this week the ‘Big Four’ professional services firms Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are joining forces to host 200 undergraduates at two careers events, ‘Big 4 Chances- ethnic minorities into professional services’ and ‘Big 4 Chances -women into professional services.’

The aim of these collaborative events is to increase the number of applicants from groups who may not otherwise consider a role within professional services firms.  The day will provide an insight in to the varied career opportunities in this area, through business games, presentations and panel discussions.  Students will also have the opportunity to visit the offices of all four firms and speak with other recent graduates already working within professional services. 

The events are organised by GTI and build on from the first Big 4 Chances event held last year.  ‘Big 4 Chances- ethnic minorities into professional services’ is being held on Wednesday 16th February and ‘Big 4 Chances -women into professional services’ is on Thursday 17th February.  The events are open to all female and ethnic minority final-year students from any degree discipline that requires 24 or more UCAS points.  For information on future events interested students should visit www.chancesevents.com where they can apply online.

Mark Blythe, joint managing director of GTI said:

“We hope that Big 4 Chances will attract and engage diverse candidates, and encourage them to consider a career in professional services as a possible option once they’ve graduated. The Chances programmes are a focal point for top organisations in their drive to reach out to the best and brightest undergraduates.”

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Case study information

Lucy Nicoll, Deloitte
Lucy Nicoll didn’t follow her classmates straight to university after finishing her A-levels – she spent time travelling and working in the Caribbean first. But after three years in the sun, having had time to consider what she wanted to do, she returned to Cardiff to begin university. Lucy spent two months working at Deloitte as part of the summer vacation programme in 2003. At the end of her placement, Deloitte was so impressed with Lucy’s work they offered her a permanent position. Lucy returned for her final year at university knowing she had a job offer in the bag. Lucy now works as a trainee accountant in the media sector and has just passed her first set of professional exams.

She will be available for interview at the “Big Chances – women in professional services” event.

For further information please contact: Ali Agmen-Smith, Deloitte, Media Relations, Tel: 0207 303 0514 Mobile: 077 959 70675 e-Mail: aagmensmith@deloitte.co.uk

Nina Hingorani, Ernst & Young
What first appealed to Nina Hingorani, a Sorbonne and King’s College Laws graduate and a qualified Chartered Accountant, about Ernst & Young was its global reach, and the sheer variety of its people.

Nina, who is an Assistant Director in Ernst & Young’s Mergers & Acquisitions team, has advised on a range of corporate finance mandates, including international cross-border transactions in South Africa, Europe, and the USA. 

“Ernst & Young is a real mesh of cultures and backgrounds, both domestically and across the worldwide firm.  You really do get all sorts here – in the best possible sense, of course!  And the key differentiator is the people - there is a genuine collegiate culture with driven, like-minded individuals who all pitch in to get the job done and “work-hard, play-hard”.  In a firm the size of Ernst & Young, it’s the diversity of the individuals that makes for a fun and stimulating working environment.”

For further information please contact: Morten Hussmann, Ernst & Young National Media Relations, tel. 020 7951 3957.

Michelle Legg, KPMG
Michelle Legg was enjoying a three-month secondment in Australia when she first heard she’d passed her accountancy exams.  Having studied Commerce and Spanish at Birmingham University, Michelle joined KPMG in 2001 working in Consumer Markets as a trainee accountant.  With the exams over, she decided to combine work and travel for a while.  Her counselling manager suggested a secondment working with the consumer and industrial team at KPMG in Sydney.  After three months of unpaid leave and travelling in Australia, Michelle has now returned to work at KPMG in London. “Working at KPMG has provided me with a wide variety of challenging and enjoyable career opportunities and experiences. I have found the people both friendly and approachable, which definitely helped me to feel part of the team very quickly.”

For further information please contact: Claire Le Masurier, KPMG LLP (UK) tel: 0207 694 8639.

Sabiqay Dossa, PwC
Sabiqay Dossa was born and brought up in Pakistan. She pursued higher education in the US (NorthWestern University) before obtaining an MBA at Imperial College in the UK.  In 2002 she joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in London working in the Infrastructure Government and Utilities department (IGU) and has since worked in the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) market in a variety of sectors on both the private and public side. Before joining PwC, Sabiqay thought settling into professional life in  London would be particularly daunting but her fears were soon allayed.  "Over the last few years I've worked with intelligent open-minded people but ultimately my own professional development has been greatly helped by the seriousness with which PwC has tackled issues of diversity. The organisation has spent considerable time and effort recognising that those from diverse backgrounds have different needs and a one-size-fits-all approach to professional development is too limiting. I work in a diverse workplace, where everyone feels challenged and recognised for hard work, regardless of background. This is not only good for our clients but enriching for the work experience of all of its employees."

Sabiqay is a member of the PwC Ethnic Minority group and actively participated in last year's Big 4 Chances event, she also acts as a mentor for the National Mentoring Consortium for Ethnic minority graduates.

For further information please contact: Julie Harwood, Corporate Public Relations Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, julie.harwood@uk.pwc.com tel: 44 (0)20 7213 4727.

About GTI:

1. Through its TARGET family of publications and doctorjob.com, the No 1 Graduate Careers Website, GTI Specialist Publishers offers practical, independent careers advice to students at UK and European universities, and tailored solutions to graduate recruiters.
2. To obtain a FREE copy of TARGET City & Finance please call GTI on 01491 828 905.
3. Big 4 Chances – ethnic minorities in professional services and Big 4 Chances – women into professional services builds on the success of other GTI careers events, Capital Chances – ethnic minorities in investment banking (now in its 5th year), Capital Chances – women in investment banking (now in its 7th year), Capital Chances – disabled students in investment banking (now in its 3rd year) and Technology Chances – women in the City (now in its 4th year).
4. Research by the AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters) and Barkers showed that graduate recruiters rate the Chances experiences as the most effective diversity-related careers initiatives.

About Deloitte:
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Deloitte & Touche LLP is the UK's fastest growing major professional services firm based in 21 UK locations, with over 10,000 staff nationwide and fee income of £1,246 million in 2003/2004. It is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a leading professional services organisation, delivering world class audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services, with around 120,000 people in over 140 countries. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Swiss Verein, and each of its national practices is a separate and independent legal entity.

Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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