Revealed: Australia’s most attractive employers to grads

What do graduates expect from the workplace and who are their favoured employers? An extensive new survey reveals all.

The Universum Top 100 Ideal Employers student survey has been released, unveiling the companies regarded as the most attractive by the graduate job market.
 
The survey, which takes place annually in over 55 countries, collects the views and preferences of over one million students.
 
The Universum Top 100 Ideal Employer Rankings – Australian Edition results are based on the answers of 14,874 students studying for degrees in various fields, with almost 50,000 individual evaluations of 120 employers.










 
2015 Top 20 Ideal Employers for business /commerce students
  1. Google
  2. Apple
  3. L'Oréal Group
  4. Commonwealth Bank
  5. Government - Federal/Commonwealth
  6. Qantas
  7. EY (Ernst & Young)
  8. Myer
  9. United Nations
  10. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
  11. Deloitte
  12. Reserve Bank of Australia
  13. Virgin Australia
  14. David Jones
  15. Coca-Cola Amatil
  16. Government - State
  17. KPMG
  18. Microsoft
  19. Samsung
  20. ANZ
2015 Top 20 Ideal Employers for engineering students
  1. CSIRO
  2. Google
  3. Government - Federal/Commonwealth
  4. United Nations
  5. Government - State
  6. BHP Billiton
  7. Apple
  8. Rio Tinto
  9. Microsoft
  10. Qantas
  11. Origin Energy
  12. Samsung
  13. Shell
  14. Chevron
  15. Toyota
  16. Sydney Water
  17. ABC
  18. GHD
  19. Virgin Australia
  20. IBM
 
When it came to what the graduates wanted from their employers, aspects relating to people and culture were weighted as heavily as renumeration and advancement opportunities. Graduates of both business/commerce and engineering all named the working environment as their top priority when considering their post-study employer.
 
Other highly prioritised attributes were leaders who support development, a clear path for advancement and high future earnings.
 
“Savvy employers need to consider a lot more factors when crafting their employer value propositions nowadays, top talent can see through generic, diluted messaging,” said Kit Foong, regional director at Universum. ”While Australian Millennials clearly place a priority on soft, intrinsic drivers, it is crucial for employers to find their own distinct value proposition.”
 
“Finding the perfect employer or employee has become more like finding the perfect partner; the more you’re able to share about yourself and what you’re really like, the better the match is likely to be,” added Rachele Focardi, senior vice president of employer branding and talent strategy, APAC at Universum. “Companies that understand that people and culture are the most important drivers for employer choice will gain a true competitive business advantage.”
 
An in depth analysis of the survey’s findings will be published in the June issue of HRD magazine.