One of the UK¡¯s biggest graduate recruiters is to remove degree classification from the entry criteria for its hiring programmes, having found ¡°no evidence¡± that success at university was correlated with achievement in professional qualifications.

Accountancy firm Ernst and Young, known as EY, will no longer require students to have a 2:1 degree and the equivalent of three B grades at A level to be considered for its graduate programmes.

Instead, the company will use numerical tests and online ¡°strength¡± assessments to assess the potential of applicants.

Maggie Stilwell, EY¡¯s managing partner for talent, said the changes would ¡°open up opportunities for talented individuals regardless of their background and provide greater access to the profession¡±.

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¡°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, she said. ¡°Our own internal research of over 400 graduates found that screening students based on academic performance alone was too blunt an approach to recruitment.

¡°It found no evidence to conclude that previous success in higher education correlated with future success in subsequent professional qualifications undertaken.¡±

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Instead, the research found a positive correlation between certain strengths which could be assessed and success in professional qualifications.

¡°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,¡± Ms Stilwell added.

The changes come after a study published by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission in June found that bright working-class applicants were ¡°systematically locked out¡± of jobs at leading accountancy firms.

Such companies tended to recruit mainly from research-intensive Russell Group universities, where students were ¡°on average more likely to have enjoyed educational and economic advantages compared to many students educated elsewhere¡±.

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Dan Richards, EY¡¯s recruiting leader for the UK, said the company wanted to attract ¡°the brightest and most talented individuals¡±.

¡°The changes we have made to our recruitment process will help us to access the widest and deepest possible talent pools,¡± he said. ¡°We want to give every candidate the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths and their potential in our selection process.¡±

The changes will come into force for EY¡¯s 2016 recruitment programmes, which opened for applications on 3 August.

The company has 200 graduate-level posts to fill each year, making it the fifth-biggest recruiter of university leavers in the UK, according to the Complete University Guide.

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