PwC has been named as the UK's leading graduate employer for the 13th consecutive year

PwC hired almost 1,500 graduates last year and plans to recruit a further 1,500 graduates in 2017.

The firm also hired 145 school leavers and had 1,133 students on work experience placements last year. Almost a third of PwC's graduate recruits joined the firm through one of its work experience placements.

The Big Four firm announced earlier this year that it will be recruiting more than 1,000 technology specialists over the next four years to meet increasing client demand for digital, regulatory and cyber security services.

As a result, the firm is hiring a third more graduates into technology roles and plans to take on 200 cyber security, data and technology graduates.

The firm’s UK IT risk assurance practice has also created a new graduate recruitment programme for technology, which will see cyber security, data and technology graduates embark on a three-year programme which includes professional qualifications.

Laura Hinton, head of people at PwC said, "We're really proud that students have voted us the UK's top graduate employer for the 13th year in a row. We've made some bold choices, such as removing UCAS scores as entry criteria and extending our campus outreach, to make sure we continue to attract and hire the most talented graduates from a broad range of backgrounds.

"The graduate job market is constantly evolving and so are our opportunities. This year we're hiring a third more graduates into technology roles to meet increasing demands from our clients. This year we recruited graduates from more than 90 universities and offer roles right across the UK, with half located outside of London. Graduate roles are just one part of our recruitment approach - we hired around 150 school leavers last year and continue to broaden the opportunities we offer."

Fellow Big Four members Deloitte, KPMG and EY also featured in the top 10 graduate employers list.

KPMG rose from 9th place last year to 6th place this year, while Deloitte dropped back one position to 7th place. EY meanwhile slipped to 9th.

BDO just made the list, ranking in 100th place and Grant Thornton jumped nine places to 81st.

Aldi came in 2nd place, followed by Teach First, Civil Service Fast Stream and Google.

The NHS and the BBC also maintained positions within the top 10.

Santander, Virgin Media, the RAF, Irwin Mitchell, Savills, Standard Life and BMW are all new or re-entries to the list.

The Bank of England, Amazon and AstraZeneca were the highest climbers in this year’s rankings.

PwC, Accenture and the Civil Service are the only employers to hold the number one position since the first Top 100 league table was published in 1999.