Menu

Featured

Sign up for our Talent Community

Loading Results

A young woman smiling at a business event

Flying Start Accounting application support

Gain a priceless experience and professional qualifications.

Gain a priceless experience and professional qualifications. 

This is your introduction to an exciting career with PwC. Life here is fast-paced and full of potential. It’s also highly rewarding. Solving complex problems that have a real impact, you’ll have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most significant organisations and recognisable global brands.  

Our Flying Start degree programmes offer people of all ages and experience levels the opportunity to kickstart their careers and study for a degree at the same time. You’ll earn a salary and have a real role, working on live projects while balancing your time with university study.

So whether you are just leaving school or college, or are rethinking your career aspirations, this is an exciting opportunity to earn while you learn and gain valuable professional experience. 

At PwC, we want you to feel challenged, to grow and learn every day. So you’ll work on a range of projects in a culture that embraces difference and encourages you to think imaginatively. We bring together highly skilled people to deliver for our clients, so you’ll have access to some of the industry’s top professionals and the opportunity to make an impact to our teams and clients from day one.

Assessment and selection process

The first stage of the assessment and selection process is a series of online activities and assessments that measure your cognitive skills, behaviours, natural preferences and reasoning abilities. The test is hosted in the SHL platform.

One hour and 30 minutes inclusive of preparation time. Please give yourself additional time to get into the platform, test your technology, and logout afterwards. Timings may differ if you’ve requested any reasonable adjustments.

You’ll start with a short activity to help you get a feel for what it might be like to work at PwC – this activity is called ‘Bringing our values to life’. This is not an assessed stage. It is designed to help you reflect on whether PwC’s culture and ways of working feels like the kind of environment in which you would thrive, and to support you in deciding whether you would like to continue with the rest of our assessment process. 

You’ll go through a series of workplace scenarios. These scenarios are designed to help us understand how you would approach situations you may encounter at PwC. As you work through them, choose the option that feels most natural to you.

If you feel that PwC is right for you, you will then take a behavioural assessment, followed by a cognitive test. The behavioural test is not timed, but the cognitive assessment will be.

A behavioural profile test asks about your natural behavioural preferences in a work setting and is made up of two parts; the behavioural assessment and reskilling potential:

  1. The behavioural assessment is the first part of the test and is designed for us to get to know more about your working styles and preferences. Typically, this shouldn’t take any more than 20 minutes to complete.
  2. Reskilling Potential is the second part of the test. This test is all about how you learn grow and adapt to new experiences. It's a short section with just seven questions and should take around four minutes to complete.

A cognitive assessment is an ability test including numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning.  

Working at PwC involves problem solving, learning fast and evaluating a range of information. The cognitive ability assessment consists of several businesslike scenarios that will help us to understand your level of critical reasoning as well as your numerical ability.

Rather than presenting you with a set of response questions from which to choose, you’ll complete an activity-based test that allows you to drag, drop and interact with the questions.

For this assessment you’ll have 36 minutes to complete 24 questions. Once you start this assessment, you must complete it fully so ensure you have sufficient time allocated before getting started.

  • Do the practice questions provided in your online assessment link before starting.
  • Find a quiet, distraction-free space for the session.
  • Check your internet connection in advance.
  • Have a notepad and pen for jotting down notes.
  • SHL is web-based, so you won't need to download any special software, but we recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari for the best experience.
  • SHL also offers a range of accessibility options, including an integrated accessibility toolbar with features like text-to-speech and reading aids. We encourage you to explore these tools on the platform to personalise your experience and ensure you're as comfortable as possible during your interview.

You’ll be contacted within 48 hours of completing your online assessment with the outcome, if you’ve met the scores required, you’ll automatically be sent details of the next stage. We’ll provide you with feedback at this stage, regardless of the outcome, continuous learning is important to us, and we recommend reflecting on this feedback to assist your future performance.

The next stage of our assessment and selection process is an on-demand video interview which will be conducted virtually via the SHL platform. You will receive your login details and instructions in advance and will have one week to complete the video interview.

Approximately 45 minutes. Please give yourself additional time to get into the platform, test your tech, and logout afterwards. Timings may differ if you’ve requested any reasonable adjustments.

When you log in, you’ll complete a series of system checks to ensure that your equipment is working correctly. The questions will begin when your systems checks are complete - the images will show questions one through to four.

The series of questions are designed to explore your experience and how you approach your work. Instead of having an interviewer, your answers will be recorded and reviewed afterwards by a member of the recruitment team.

  • Think about recent experiences or challenges you have faced in your education, work, or extra-curricular activities that you can draw on as examples.
  • Find a quiet, distraction-free space for the session.
  • Check your internet connection, webcam, and audio in advance.
  • Have a notepad and pen for jotting down notes.
  • SHL is web-based, so you won't need to download any special software, but we recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari for the best experience.
  • SHL also offers a range of accessibility options, including an integrated accessibility toolbar with features like text-to-speech and reading aids. We encourage you to explore these tools on the platform to personalise your experience and ensure you're as comfortable as possible during your interview.

The next stage of our assessment and selection process is the assessment centre. These typically take place in March, so you may not be invited straight away. However, once you have completed the video interview, we’ll provide feedback to support your continued learning and keep in regular contact with you.

Our assessment centre is a comprehensive evaluation day designed to assess a range of skills relevant to the roles within PwC. Unlike a single interview, it involves a variety of exercises that simulate aspects of the work you would do here. It's an opportunity for us to see your potential in action and for you to experience a bit of what it's like to work at PwC. 

The primary purpose of the assessment centre is to gain a holistic understanding of your skills and suitability for a role with us. While your initial application and earlier assessment stages give us a good sense of your academic achievements, experiences and some skills, the assessment centre allows us to delve deeper and observe your problem-solving skills, teamwork abilities, communication style, and how you approach challenges in a practical setting. It's also an excellent chance for you to demonstrate your strengths beyond what has been captured during the first two assessment stages. This is as much an opportunity for you to find out if our firm aligns with your career aspirations as it is for us to assess your human and technical skills.

The assessment centre will be approximately one hour and 40 minutes and is run by our Assessors. During the day you will meet and work with up to five other candidates who have also applied for the Flying Start Accountancy programme. The assessment centre will include a group-based activity designed to reflect real aspects of working at PwC.

Learn about PwC

Thoroughly research our firm and familiarise yourself with our services, values, and what makes us unique. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

Think about how to approach the group exercise

This exercise will assess your teamwork, communication, and ability to contribute constructively in a team setting. Think about how you can listen actively, share your ideas clearly, and support others.

Logistics

  • Technology: The assessment centre will be run on the TopScore platform. This is a web-based platform, so you won't need to download any special software, but we recommend checking your Wi-Fi connection and using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari for the best experience. TopScore also offers a range of accessibility options, including an integrated accessibility toolbar with features like text-to-speech and reading aids. We encourage you to explore these tools on the platform to personalise your experience.
  • Note taking: Have a notepad and pen nearby to take any important notes during the assessment centre.
  • Dress code: At PwC, we dress for our day. This means that depending where you’re working, and what you’re working on, you’re empowered to choose what’s most appropriate.
  • Rest and refreshment: Get a good night's sleep before the day. Have water and any necessary snacks nearby to keep your energy levels up during breaks.

Be yourself and engage
While preparation is important, remember to let your personality shine through. Be open to learning, ask questions when appropriate, and engage positively with everyone you meet. We're looking for individuals who will thrive in our collaborative environment.

What is the purpose of the group exercise?
The group exercise is designed to provide you with a glimpse into how our teams at PwC collaborate on client challenges. It's an opportunity for us to see your teamwork in action, observing how you contribute, listen to others, and work towards a solution. We're keen to understand your natural approach to problem-solving in a group setting and how you build on ideas to achieve an outcome.

What skills will be assessed during the group exercise?
In this exercise, you will be assessed on your collaboration skills, verbal communication, influence and relationship building.

What will I be asked to do during the group exercise?
In the group exercise, you'll tackle a challenge similar to the real-world problems our PwC teams help clients solve every day.

How long is the group exercise?
The group exercise will last for one hour.

  • Find a quiet, distraction-free space for the session.
  • Check your internet connection, webcam, and audio in advance.
  • Have a notepad and pen for jotting down notes.
  • TopScore is web-based, so you won't need to download any special software, but we recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari for the best experience.
  • TopScore also offers a range of accessibility options, including an integrated accessibility toolbar with features like text-to-speech and reading aids. We encourage you to explore these tools on the platform to personalise your experience and ensure you're as comfortable as possible during your interview.

We confirm conditional places on our Flying Start Accounting entry level programme by the end of April. You will need to also meet the conditions set out with your University.

A member of the PwC UK Careers team will contact you with feedback and will let you know if you’ve been successful in your application.

What’s next? 

Our culture is all about our people and we want you to feel supported and part of PwC as soon as your course begins. In the months leading up to your first placement, you’ll be invited to our onboarding portal where you’ll have lots of things you need to do before your first day. You will also be asked to complete your Right to Work checks, usually on-site at your university prior to your placement, so you will be all set to join on your first day. This process will repeat each year of your university course and one final time if you join PwC as a graduate.

You can expect to hear from us regularly as we prepare you for your career with us.