Have you had a chance to read Universum’s World’s Most Attractive Employers (WMAE) report which obtained data from over 245,000 business and IT/engineering students? Here are the key takeaways.
Universum has just released its WMAE report for 2019, where it surveyed students from the world’s 12 largest economies who provided insights on their favourite employer brands, preferred industries and their career goals. So … grab a coffee, sit back and prepare for some game-changing insights!
Preferred Industries
According to global figures, male business students are now most often choosing financial services careers, whereas female business students are choosing careers in management and strategy consulting over others. The banking, media and advertising, auditing and accounting and E-commerce sectors are also among the top 5 choices for surveyed business students.
Over the past 10 years, the biggest gains in terms of the preferred industries for male and female business students have been in E-commerce (ranked number 6 compared to number 22 a decade ago) and real estate (rising 11 points over the last 10 years). Conversely, a career in fast-moving consumer goods has dropped from number 12 to number 24 over a 10-year period.
Women and men in the IT and engineering sectors have showed marked differences in industry preferences, with automotive industry careers at number four for men and number 10 for women. However, careers in industrial engineering and manufacturing, software and computer services, and aerospace and defence were all in the top 5 choices for both male and female IT/engineering students.
In terms of the last 10 years, the big winner has been in the software industry, which has been the top career choice by a large margin, rising from seventh to first place. The aerospace and defence sectors have also gained popularity, possibly due to increased excitement about engineering innovations that are changing the fundamental fabric of our society.
“The trends we’re seeing are driving the increase in interest in E-commerce, the automotive and tech sectors. In fact, each of them is embracing new technologies at a fast pace and technology that is working very hard at addressing the growing need for flexibility at work, work-life balance, celebrating fun at work and D&I as key elements of their culture.” Claudia Tattanelli – Chairman, Strategic Board at Universum
Top 10 World Most Attractive Employers
In terms of employer brands, this year’s rankings saw far greater movement compared to previous years, although Google did preserve its top spot as the World’s Most Attractive Employer (WMAE) for business students. Ernst & Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) both gained ground this year – EY has remained in the Top 5 over the last six years, possibly by redefining its talent acquisition approach, particularly in relation to attracting people from STEM (science, technology, maths and engineering) backgrounds.
In 2019, three of the top 4 WMAE spots were occupied by Big Four firms – EY, PwC and Deloitte, and of those, Deloitte gained the most ground, moving from seventh to fourth place since 2013.
In terms of the World’s Most Attractive Employers, reputations have changed across employer brands in 2019 among IT and engineering students. Google, Microsoft and Apple all maintained their Top 3 WMAE rankings from last year (in that order).
However, General Electric (GE) has moved down the list significantly (perhaps due to stock fluctuations and hence employee layoffs), while Amazon, although ranked at number 10 this year, may be hitting its limits. It achieved high rankings in countries like France and India, however is losing ground in others, particularly in China. This may be due to escalating trade wars with the US – these are driving a rise in nationalism among Chinese students who are showing a growing preference for careers with national companies.
Career Goals
According to this year’s WMAE report, the top 2 career goals for both business and IT/engineering students is a work/life balance and to be secure or stable in their job (in that order). In fact, in terms what is known as having a ‘future-proof job’, is rising on a global level. 53% of US students reported this as a priority, which goes against many of the stereotypes that typify Gen Z and millennial employees.
Both groups of students also see being ‘entrepreneurial or creative/innovative’ and ‘being competitively or intellectually challenged’ in their Top 5 priorities.
In terms of differences in priorities, business students considered being a leader or manager of people as a priority, while IT/engineering students thought that ‘to be dedicated to a cause or to feel that I am serving a greater good’ as important.
Other trends emerging from the World’s Most Attractive Employers report this year are the increase in the acquirement of further skills in order to grow students’ careers and a waning interest in international careers. The second statistic may be because as a whole, multinationals have not been performing as well as their domestic peers and multinationals are the companies most likely to offer students careers abroad.
“While many of the top global employers continue to retain their dominant position in our rankings there are a lot of underlying changes in the qualities young talent are looking for that every company needs to pay attention to. We continue to see an increasing demand for employers to clarify and communicate their core purpose, and provide an outlet for entrepreneurialism. We also see a growing need for multinational companies to highlight their local strengths, and not rely too heavily on their international status. We continue to live in a highly connected world, but also a world in which small can be beautiful, and local identity and diversity holds a growing appeal”. Mats Röjdmark, Chief Executive Officer, Universum.
Brand Attributes
In this year’s survey, roughly one in two respondents chose ‘higher future earnings’ as the first priority in terms of a company’s brand attributes, regardless of whether they were studying business or IT/engineering. However, it’s important for employers to understand that higher salaries need to work in combination with other priorities, including non-pay benefits. Secure employment as well as professional training and development is another top consideration for both business and IT/engineering students.
“One in two respondents chose ‘higher future earnings’ as the first priority in terms of a company’s brand attributes.”
In terms of differences in priorities in the WMAE report, IT/engineering students also showed a preference for innovation, and what that means exactly is explained in Deloitte’s Global Human Capital report.
“In a 21st-century career, the individual and his or her experiences take centre stage. Instead of a steady progression along a job-based pathway, leading organizations are shifting toward a model that empowers individuals to acquire valuable experiences, explore new roles, and continually reinvent themselves.”
“Nearly half of the people we surveyed would entirely rule out taking a job with a company that exhibited the top three negative employer brand factors, regardless of any pay increase. Even a 10% raise would only tempt 28% of them to join such a company”. Harvard Business Review
Young Women At Work
Organisations in traditionally male-dominated industries have been working hard to attract more female employees and this year’s World’s Most Attractive Employers statistics show their efforts are paying off. The banking industry has climbed six spots over 10 years among female business students and more significantly, the software and computer services industry jumped 23 spots over the same period.
It’s clear that top companies are dedicating significant resources to recruiting for diversity – which includes hiring women into under-represented roles and fields. 85% of HR leaders in the WMAE report say it’s a high priority for their organisations.
However, there are still some hurdles to overcome. According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, women make up only 20% of senior leadership positions within the financial services sector. In the US engineering sector, only 22% of the 7.4 million IT jobs are held by women, and 40% of women who work full-time in scientific fields leave their careers or go part-time after the birth of their first child.
Preferred Communication Channels
And how do the 245,000 business and IT/engineering students surveyed like to be communicated in terms of learning about employers?
According to the WMAE report, 68% of business students and 61% of IT/engineering students prefer social media platforms as their number one priority. Employer websites came in second with 55% of both business and IT/engineering students preferring this option. The third most popular channel was career fairs with a 49% business student and 54% IT/engineering student preference. Online job boards came in fourth, with 51% of business students and 50% of IT/engineering students preferring this channel, and number five was employer presentation on campus with 43% of both business and IT/engineering students preferring this method of communication.
Source:
Universum’s World’s Most Attractive Employers 2019
With a career history of over 20 years in the marketing sector working for some of Australia’s top ad agencies, Kaye launched her own copywriting business, KK Productions, in 2014.
Her client list includes Australia’s largest retail travel outlet, the world’s largest insurance company and one of the country’s top retail stores; she has also written content for a variety of other sectors from recruitment, real estate and educational organisations to health and service-oriented industries. Kaye’s writing experience spans the full gamut of advertising and marketing copy. When she is not immersed in the world of writing, she loves reading, travel and bushwalking with her husband and dog, Barney.