Every autumn, the graduate "milk round" begins, with Irish, British and multinational companies descending on third-level campuses and career fairs eager to sign up the cream of the latest crop of graduate students.
The recent growth in demand for graduates shows no sign of abating this year, and prospects for 2008 are good, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) anticipating that some 1,650 trainee accountants will be recruited. The number of graduates being recruited has risen by 400 in the past two years.
KPMG has pledged to take on 350 graduates for its audit, tax and advisory departments in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway. The number represents a 25 per cent increase on the firm's intake last year.
Managing partner Terence O'Rourke says KPMG is seeking "the brightest and best" to join the firm, and graduates from all disciplines are welcome. "Last year we hired our highest ever number of graduates and our business growth for the last 12 months of over 27 per cent has created an even greater need for top-class graduates," he says.
Rival PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seeking 250 graduates to join the firm in 2008. "These graduates will work right across our business areas, including assurance, advisory and tax and legal services," says PwC HR partner Carmel O'Connor.
Ernst & Young is seeking 200 recruits to take up positions in its audit, tax and risk advisory departments across the State, while the other member of the "Big Four", Deloitte, has pledged to take on 230 graduates.
Among the middle-ranking firms, Mazars has pledged to take on 30 new recruits. It is looking to fill positions in the firm's offices in Dublin, Galway and Belfast.
Most accounting firms wrap up their graduate recruitment drive by Christmas and the latest batch of recruits will be signing their 3½-year contracts in the near future.
Many financial services firms based in Ireland have become cautious because of the shortage of trained financial staff currently available in Dublin.
Last week, media reports said the shortage of trained staff had deterred German reinsurance firm Hannover Re from relocating its headquarters to Dublin, a move that would have created about 1,000 jobs.
The firm was reported to see Ireland as "the ideal location from a fiscal point of view" due to the 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate. However, a spokesman for Hannover Re said: "Recruiting staff would be difficult as it is hard to come by actuaries, so we are happy to stay in Germany for now."
Similar concerns were raised this week by Bank of New York Mellon, which is aiming to double its Irish workforce to 1,400 in the next three to five years.
The dearth of accountants in Ireland has prompted the ICAI to initiate a €200,000 media campaign aimed at raising the profile of accountancy as a career option.
"Over the past few years we have seen a huge demand for accountants in the State. We are training increased numbers of graduates every year to ensure there are chartered accountants available to meet demands," says ICAI spokesman Ronan O'Brien.
