Why is Grant Thornton Increasing its Graduate Recruitment?

Professional services firm Grant Thornton is reportedly planning on bringing 340 graduates and school leavers in the UK into the firm this year – a 30% increase from its 2025 recruitment efforts, and its highest number in three years. 

Abigail Fisher, Chief People Officer of Grant Thornton, told Financial News that this increase in numbers is because the company is remaining “invested in trainees.” 

The recruitment drive follows a significant 2025 investment in the company from Cinven, which made Grant Thornton UK the largest UK professional services firm to take external equity investment. 

It has already appointed more than 100 new senior leadership positions, which included 20 new directors, a new Chief Financial Officer and Abigail as the company’s first ever Chief People Officer. 

Entry-level growth 

Grant Thornton has developed a three year graduate programme that combines studying and working – offering fully funded professional accountancy qualifications, hands on experience and direct interaction with senior leaders. 

Graduates also receive tailored mentorship and coaching, as well as the opportunity to build technical expertise and leadership skills. 

According to Abigail, this programme helps new employees receive the support they need while also helping the company prepare long term internal mobility pipelines. 

She said: “We are changing the work behind the scenes. What does the future partner look like? What do we need to recruit for? And how are we evolving our learning and development programmes to make sure that we are supporting our people to develop their future skills?”

Grant Thornton’s first Chief People Officer

In February, Abigail was appointed Grant Thornton UK’s first-ever Chief People Officer – with the company saying that the role was designed to shape a people strategy that can support a high-performance, future-focused culture that can help employees thrive. 

She had previously worked as a People and Change Manager at Grant Thornton, and prior to taking on the role, had spent 12 years holding senior HR leadership positions at legal practice, Eversheds Sutherland. 

Malcolm Gomersall, Chief Executive Officer of Grant Thornton UK, said of the appointment: “Abigail’s appointment marks an important step in our journey to strengthen our culture and further enhance our people experience.

“Her experience and passion for people will help us build on what makes Grant Thornton a great place to work while modernising our operations to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”

Leadership development

Abigail told Financial News that, as the company builds up opportunities for internal mobility, it is “accelerating partners,” as the company is not “in the kind of professional services stuffy environment where you have to wait for this partner to leave for another partner to take their place. We are very open to bringing people through.” 

Other consultancies are also building up their opportunities for leadership development – such as McKinsey, which says participation in its leadership training for senior executives has doubled in just under two years. 

Heather Stefanski, Chief Learning and Development Officer at McKinsey, previously described the company’s approach to leadership development as a “leadership incubator,” telling HR Brew that: ““the value proposition to our clients and the value proposition to our people is that we’re going to accelerate everybody’s development.”