Gaenor Bagley, PwC head of people, said:
"Graduate recruitment is the lifeblood of our business. That's why we continue to invest heavily in offering outstanding opportunities to students. The biggest shift over the past few years is that competition for talented students no longer starts in the run up to graduation, employers start competing for the attention of talented students from their first day on campus, or before they even leave schools and colleges.
"Giving early paid workplace experience to students is key to employers and students alike. It allows students to assess a career with us first hand and vice versa. With the majority of those who go on to complete internships converting to a full time role, we believe that the return on investment from paid internships makes this an increasingly attractive option to both parties."
"We think early identification of talent, whether in schools, colleges or on campus will only become more important as the fight for the best jobs becomes more pronounced. The survey results reinforce this trend.
"Attracting and retaining top graduate talent is crucial for us to sustain the future of both our own business and the wider UK economy, so it is fantastic to see a growth in recruitment across such a broad range of sectors."
Main points in High Fliers 'The Graduate Market in 2012':
- Hiring intentions 2012 amongst the Times Top 100 graduate employers suggest that graduate hires will be up by 6.4% on 2011
- This will return graduate hires at the Top 100 employers to pre credit crunch (2007) volumes for the first time
- Planned hires are up in 10 out of the 15 industries represented in the top 100
- Median intended starting salaries are unchanged at £29k across all sectors
- 36% of graduate places are filled by former interns
