“Right now we’re in the unexpected position of having an abundance of great graduate talent — it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure graduates that smaller privately owned businesses have never had the opportunity to access before,” Mr Barr said.

Following a number of recent redundancy rounds, including the sacking of 700 staff at Deloitte and 250 consultants at KPMG, Mr Barr added that a number of graduates had approached the mentoring organisation after having previous job offers from the big four accounting firms fall through.

“Without any announcement, the big four seem to be quietly retreating from their graduate programs, and the once keen new talent they would normally secure is now turning their backs on them,” he said.

“We’re also seeing many more graduates knock on our door, keen to pursue opportunities and career paths beyond the big four. The idea of being one of hundreds to face redundancy in an economic downturn has caused many to substantially rethink who they actually want to work for and develop their careers with.”

“Firms with a 10-year-plus growth plan are definitely investing in graduates to grow their own talent,” he said.