Deloitte was the big winner at the Gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards ceremony in Dublin's Mansion House, with the company winning best graduate employer for 2018.
According to the judges, the company was lauded for having “an outstanding” graduate programme.
“There is a sharp focus on innovation in many areas including marketing, application process, [and] digital engagement. There is also a strong focus on giving candidates a positive, consistent experience clearly aligned with overall business strategy,” added the judges.
The firm toasted quadruple success at the awards: in addition to being named overall winner, it won the Best Innovation on Campus award and also received the silver award in the Best Graduate Training and Development Programme category and the bronze award in the Best Graduate Recruitment Website category.
The firm won the award for Best Innovation on Campus for its new mobile-enabled application and assessment process that allows graduates to gain insights into the role and responsibilities at application stage.
This allowed Deloitte to build brand engagement through a significantly improved user experience, therefore bringing greater diversity to its graduate recruitment process by assessing fit with the firm at application stage.
Brendan Jennings, managing partner Deloitte, commented on the firm's success: "We are delighted to be named Ireland's top graduate employer. At Deloitte, we recognise that success in the workplace comes in many different forms and so are committed to providing a challenging but inclusive and enjoyable workplace and career path where graduates can develop and grow as successful individuals."
Deloitte is a significant recruiter of graduates on an annual basis, and over the past year has recruited for more than 300 graduate and undergraduate opportunities. There is a diverse range of opportunities for graduates joining Deloitte across a number of service areas including audit and assurance, risk advisory, corporate finance, tax and consulting services. Furthermore, the Deloitte technology programmes also include a number of graduate positions in cyber risk, Deloitte Digital, information management and analytics, and systems integration.
There are opportunities for graduates from all academic disciplines including accounting, arts, business, law, science, technology, engineering and maths, among others.
Two showcases
Such has been the popularity of the event that the previous format of including graduate and post-graduate awards in a single ceremony has had to be changed in favour of two separate showcases.
The decision was made again this year to split the best internship category as voted for by expert panels into prizes for smaller and larger internships depending on how many interns a company takes in.
Ross Kerrigan, a second-year member of the graduate programme with Musgrave, was awarded Graduate Employee of the Year. Other category winners included EY for Best Student Marketing Campaign; KPMG for Best Internship Programme (>50 intake); and Enterprise Rent-A-Car for Gradireland's Diversity Recruitment Award. PwC won the award in the accountancy/professional services category.
Mark Mitchell of Gradireland said it was another big year for the awards with 117 submissions in the judged awards categories from 35 employers and more than 230 organisations in the student-voted awards lists.
Mitchell said it is easier for companies to attract top graduates because they can point them towards the award-winning companies who lead for training and development, diversity or best practice.
UK's countdown to leave the European Union has caused panic in business and university circles but Mitchell is confident Irish graduates will ride out the storm.
And with Ireland set to return to full employment in 2019, the outlook is certainly brighter for graduates.
“While we are returning to full employment, there are still many uncertainties both locally and globally that can affect the current positive outlook. We are a relatively small and exposed economy, so uncertainties surrounding Brexit and the global politico-economic environment mean that there is still a good deal of caution around,” said Mitchell.
“Equally, jobs and work are changing rapidly, so there is a much more sophisticated focus on skills, competencies, agility, innovation and creativity across all job roles for graduates now than there ever was. This manifests itself in a somewhat reserved outlook – while the present may be great, the future is an on-going challenge for this and coming generations,” said Mitchell.
Selection of Gradireland recruitment award winners 2018*
Graduate Employer of the Year: Deloitte
Graduate Employee of the Year: Ross Kerrigan, Musgrave
Best Graduate Recruitment Website: Aldi
Best Innovation on Campus: Deloitte
Best Student Marketing Campaign: EY
Best Graduate Training and Development Programme: (Specialist/Professional Training Programmes): EY
Best Graduate Training and Development Programme (Business/Management Programmes): Glanbia
Best Internship Programme (>50 intake): KPMG
Best Internship Programme (<50 intake): Workday
Gradireland Diversity Recruitment Award: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
* The full list of winners can be viewed at gradireland.com
