Australian graduates want employers who offer secure careers and who can set them up for higher future earnings

Both business and STEM talent in Australia see Google as the most ideal choice

Today, Universum, a global leader in talent data and insights, shared the findings from the Australia portion of its annual global talent survey. Having collected the opinions of over 17,000 students from Australia’s leading universities, the research sets out to track the career aspirations and preferences of Australia’s future talent pool. The Australia study also recognizes the most coveted employers based solely on the responses collected.

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This year, Google retained its position as the most ideal employer among business students. Followed by Apple, Commonwealth Bank, Deloitte, Government – Federal/Commonwealth, KPMG, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Qantas, EY (Ernst & Young) and Government – State.

The top 10 most attractive employers among engineering/IT students are Google, Microsoft, Apple, Government – Federal/Commonwealth, Amazon, Government – State, Qantas, CSIRO, BHP and Samsung.

What students want

To better understand their career priorities, respondents were asked about the types of employer attributes they are attracted to the most. It was revealed that students favour employers who they perceive to provide secure employment, the potential for high future earnings, and a friendly work environment. Most interesting, though, is that this year’s survey showed students are strongly drawn towards employers who adopt an ethical culture and demonstrate respect for their people.

Jim Evans, senior consultant at Universum, said “Unsurprisingly, concerns resulting from the pandemic have made security a high priority for career seekers. It would, however, be remiss to believe that focusing communications primarily on this attribute would make an employer more attractive. What matters most to students in Australia is finding employers that offer the golden mix of security environment and development.”

Salary expectations have increased

In the past year, Australia has experienced challenges, such as an economic downturn that led to an increase in the unemployment rate and the impact of the pandemic. However, the students in the country remain optimistic. When participants were asked to state the annual salary they expect upon graduation, the average expected annual salary is 90,271 AUD. The results also showed that the annual average salary expectations among business/commerce/management students had increased significantly.

SOURCE Universum Communications Pte. Ltd (press release)