Commenting on the news, Melanie Richards, Vice Chair of KPMG in the UK, said: “This award is recognition of the work our people do across the UK, often quietly and behind the scenes, to ensure our profession is more open and accessible to everyone. KPMG has a long standing commitment to improving social mobility and it is an honour to see the work we do with Government, our fellow business leaders and most importantly, the communities we operate in acknowledged in this way.
“Improving social mobility has never been more important than it is today. If the UK is to remain competitive on the global stage we need to ensure talented people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, no matter their background.
“Receiving a Queen’s Award today serves as motivation for us all to redouble our efforts tomorrow.”
KPMG has taken a leading role in promoting social mobility for over a decade.
- The firm was one of the first organisations in the UK to pay their employees the voluntary Living Wage and has worked closely with the Living Wage Foundation on this issue.
- KPMG was one of the 11 founding Social Mobility Business Compact Champions appointed by Government. This recognised the steps the firm had taken to widen access to the profession and make opportunities available to those from all backgrounds. This included the introduction of high quality non-graduate entry routes, such as the KPMG360o apprenticeship programme, which runs alongside the existing Graduate Scheme.
- In an important step for transparency KPMG last year became the first business in the UK to publish comprehensive workforce data measuring employee’s parental occupation and education and the type of school employees attended.
- The firm have co-sponsored The City Academy, Hackney, since its inception in 2009. It provides strategic support to their senior leadership through an Executive Committee sponsor and five Governors; offer financial assistance; and deliver a suite of work-related learning opportunities to c.350 students per year, from literacy and debating provision, to subject-specific tutoring, mentoring and work experience.
- KPMG works with more than 100 secondary schools and 30 primary schools across the UK to improve disadvantaged young people’s skills and experiences of the world of work
- KPMG’s flagship work placement programme, the ‘Discovery programme’, aims to raise awareness of opportunities into the profession for young people and to help build a diverse pipeline for KPMG’s school and college leaver programmes. It has been running since 2013 as part the firm’s commitment to Access Accountancy. The programme is now delivered in every KPMG office across the UK.
- KPMG co-led the development of ‘The Vision for Literacy Business Pledge 2016’ with the National Literacy Forum in 2015. The aim of this pledge is to galvanise the business community behind the literacy challenge. It builds on the Vision for Literacy, a policy document released in October 2014 with cross-party commitment to tackle the UK’s literacy crisis.
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For press enquiries please contact
Louis Clark, Senior PR Manager at KPMG, 07770 644 382, louis.clark@kpmg.co.uk
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