The number of accountancy trainees working in the UK’s top 75 accountancy firms has jumped more than 8% over the past year as more firms seek to shore up their talent pools amid an ongoing recruitment battle.

According to Accountancy Daily’s annual Top 75 Firms survey, there are now nearly 21,400 trainees studying towards gaining an accountancy qualification in these firms, 1,650 more than last year’s survey, which had reported a slowdown in the growth rate of trainee recruitment, in part reflecting difficulties caused by the pandemic.

But now the pace of trainee recruitment has picked up again, maintaining a near-decade period of growth that dates back to 2014.