Accenture continues to resonate with college graduates as an employer of choice in the United Kingdom and Ireland, having achieved the No. 4 position on The Times of London’s Top 100 Graduate Employers list.

Accenture rose three spots on the 2008 list, up from No. 7 a year ago, with competitors IBM ranked No. 23, down from No. 21, McKinsey ranked No. 48, down from 37, and Bain ranked No. 59, up from 66. Deloitte held its No. 2 position. Accenture has appeared on the list since 1998.

“The most consistent performers have been the (UK) Civil Service, KPMG and Accenture, each of which has never been lower than eighth place,” The Times of London editor Martin Burchall said of the list’s ten-year history.

Accenture also won the "Employer of Choice" and “Best Brochure” awards in the Consulting category.

“We are actively engaged with students of the top 25 universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, maintaining a strong presence on campus,” said John Campagnino, senior director-Global Recruitment. “We want well-rounded, academic achievers. While academic excellence is very important to us, we also place great value on work, community and extracurricular experience.”

Julia Harvie-Liddel, recruitment lead-United Kingdom/Ireland said that “Our recruiting efforts are about developing future leaders and giving them the best possible start to their careers, as well as helping them to understand and find their strengths, which may be different than what they originally thought.”

Read the Times Online:Top 100 Graduate Employers