In a competitive talent market work experience is an important way of broadening access to careers and engaging future talent early. Jane Baker explains how BDO has developed their strategy both in-person and virtually.
In-person experiences remain invaluable, but for a firm of our size, geography, office capacity and budget can restrict reach. We wanted to engage a wider and more diverse range of young people across the UK while ensuring the experience remained meaningful.
Our Managing Partner, Mark Shaw, has made increasing access to opportunities a strategic priority for the firm. Supported by BDO’s Social Mobility Strategy and Citizenship Strategy, our colleagues across BDO can volunteer their time to help bring careers in professional services to life.
Strategic partnerships, combined with a balance of in-person experiences and market-leading student engagement technology, have been key to delivering that ambition.
Delivering work experience in partnership
One challenge facing our profession is not reputation, but visibility. Research shows that only 7% of students express interest in accountancy and professional services, despite the sector accounting for around 17% of graduate roles and 45% of employer demand.
In a competitive market, candidates often gravitate towards more recognisable employers, making it difficult for firms such as BDO to stand out.
To help address this challenge, we recently completed the first year of our partnership with Connectr Early Engagement to implement our modernised work experience programme. Bridge to BDO runs across selected regions and we have plans to scale further over the next two years.
Designed for students from Years 9 to 13, Bridge to BDO introduces professional services careers and educates on the pathways available after education while building employability skills.
We spend time in schools with year 9s while year 11-13s are invited to spend up to three days in their local BDO office, working on team projects, generating ideas and getting a taste of corporate life – the way we do it at BDO - through networking lunches and panel discussions with our people.
We also participate in Connectr's Discover Finance programme, alongside a network of other employers committed to improving access to the profession.
Creating impact
The impact has been encouraging. This year alone, Bridge to BDO and Discover Finance have reached 796 students from 103 schools across the UK.
Of those who shared demographic data, 58.3% identified as being from an ethnic minority background, while 31.8% had been eligible for FSM, compared with a UK average of 25.7%.
For us, creating meaningful experiences at scale is about more than participation numbers. It's about ensuring students leave with greater confidence, a clearer perception of what a journey into this career might look like, but also a greater sense of belonging in this environment, and the working world in general.
Feedback suggests this approach is making a difference. More than 90% of participants agreed that BDO colleagues were helpful and engaging, while 81% said the experience improved their understanding of careers they were previously unaware of.
Among Year 11 to Year 13 students, 89% said the experience made them more likely to consider a career with BDO.
Technology also plays an important role in extending engagement beyond a single event. Through BDO Hive, powered by Connectr Talent Tech, we can stay connected with students over time, providing access to careers guidance in the form of modules, real BDO mentors, learning resources and a signpost to future opportunities.
More than 80% of students who took part in our Bridge to BDO programme subsequently registered on the platform, highlighting the value of creating an ongoing relationship rather than treating work experience as a one-off interaction.
Virtual & in-person work experience for impact
To supplement our in-person programme, we offer virtual work experience in partnership with Springpod.
Virtual programmes have allowed us to engage with thousands of students regardless of location, providing an accessible introduction to life at BDO, our people and our early in career opportunities.
Across our broader work experience and early engagement activity, BDO expects to provide opportunities to more than 8,200 young people this year.
Virtual experiences provide reach and accessibility, helping us connect with students who may never be able to attend an office-based programme. Meanwhile, face-to-face experiences offer something different: the chance to build relationships, as well as diverse and sustainable talent pipelines.
Long-term strategy
This long game reflects our belief that attracting talent is only part of the story. The real opportunity lies in creating a joined-up experience that starts with early engagement and continues through recruitment, onboarding and career development.
Today's student wants meaningful work, opportunities to learn and supportive environments in which to build their career. Our role is not only to communicate that experience, but to consistently deliver it.
Looking ahead, we believe work experience will continue to evolve into a broader ecosystem of opportunities, combining face-to-face engagement, virtual learning, technology-enabled communities and employer collaboration.
While no single intervention will solve the challenges facing young people or employers, together these approaches can help create more accessible and effective routes into the workplace, supporting long term growth for students, but also for us as a firm.