A LEADING accountancy firm has unveiled a radical shake-up in the way it recruits graduates and school-leavers, with academic qualifications no longer used to assess candidates.

EY will instead use a new and enhanced suite of online ‘strengths’ assessments and numerical tests for its 2016 graduate, undergraduate and school leaver programmes, which have opened for applications.

It said the new approach created a level playing field for potential employees from all backgrounds.

The new assessment system means that students will no longer be required to have a minimum of 300 UCAS points (equivalent to 3 B’s) and a 2:1 degree classification to apply for jobs .

The decision follows an 18-month analysis of the firm’s student selection process by talent management firm Capp,which confirmed EY’s strengths based approach - used in recruiting staff since 2008 - as a robust and reliable indicator of a candidate’s potential.

Stuart Watson, EY’s senior partner in Yorkshire, said: “At EY we want to attract the brightest and most talented individuals. The changes we have made to our recruitment process will help us to find the best candidates from a wider range of diverse backgrounds. We want to give every candidate the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths and their potential in our selection process.’’

EY's managing partner for talent, Maggie Stilwell, said it was challenging traditional thinking and modernising the workplace.

She said: "Transforming our recruitment process will open up opportunities for talented individuals regardless of their background and provide greater access to the profession.

“Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door. "

EY's internal research of more than 400 graduates found that screening students based on academic performance alone was too blunt an approach to recruitment. There was no evidence that previous success in higher education correlated with future success in subsequent professional qualifications .

Maggie Stilwell added: “Transforming our recruitment policy is intended to create a more even and fair playing field for all candidates, giving every applicant the opportunity to prove their abilities.”

While continuing to value students’ academic achievements and maintain high intellectual standards, EY believes its enhanced strengths based selection process would give many more students the chance to demonstrate their future potential.

It would also help to create a more inclusive culture at the firm to drive the business forward and deliver better results for clients.

EY intends to launch online learning resources to give candidates from all backgrounds access to information and skills to make securing a graduate role easier.