Google, PTT named top employers among new Thai graduates

According to the study, tech giant Google was the No 1 employer of choice for business/commerce students, while PTT gained top position as an ideal employer among engineering students.

Hospitality, retail industries remain popular

The most attractive employer among business/commerce students was Google, followed by the Stock Exchange of Thailand and entertainment giant GMM Grammy. The fourth spot was taken by duty-free retailer King Power.

The preferred industries among students remained diverse, with the tourism and hospitality sector coming in first (39 per cent).

“Despite the economic impact brought by the pandemic, as well as tighter curbs to contain infections, talent remains optimistic about the outlook of tourism its related industries. This may be excellent news for the country’s recent plan to reboot tourism,” said Pratik Sabherwal, head of advisory APAC for Universum.

PTT, EGAT and SET are high in the Most Ideal Employer Rankings, despite students’ strong desire to work in the private sector

Though many Thai students aspire to work in the private sector (88 per cent business/commerce students and 84 per cent engineering students), public-owned firms are still the preferred choice.

Public-owned companies like PTT and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) are among the top three ideal employers, with PTT leading the list.

“During the pandemic, a time when employees of private firms potentially experience sharp drops in salary, future talent may be more open to well-established bodies in the public sector where civil servants’ salaries remain stable. Our survey shows PTT is highly associated with attractive employer characteristics, such as offering a competitive base salary, competitive benefits, secure employment and having a high-performance focus, which are also the top four most important attributes engineering students are looking for,” Sabherwal added.

Google, PTT, SCG most engaging employers

Employer corporate websites remain the most common information source with 52 per cent of respondents saying they relied on it, while 47 per cent of students say they also turn to Facebook and Google+ to find out about their future employers. Among all university students surveyed, Google, PTT, and Siam Cement Group are ranked as the top three most engaging companies on social media.

Facebook is integrated into Thai people’s lives more than other social media channels such as Instagram or LinkedIn. Therefore talent uses both the official company website to learn about the employer and Facebook to see how people are engaging with the company and what kind of content the company is sharing about itself as an employer.

“Employers should tailor their branding by identifying their key differentiators and sharing relevant information when targeting different candidates. Since employers in Thailand are active on Facebook, talent often uses Facebook to get a real understanding of the employee experiences; making the best use of popular platforms will ensure talent gets an understanding about what to expect working at your organization,” Sabherwal said.

Other highlights in the survey showed that students perceive diversity and inclusion (77 per cent) as the most important topic for employers to address on their social media, ahead of advancement opportunities (75 per cent) and thoughts from company leaders (73 per cent).

Gender pay disparity persists

The expected annual salary of university students in Thailand averages at 431,689 baht. Business and commerce students have higher expectations on salary with an average annual remuneration of THB452 869, whereas that of their engineering cohorts is THB434 663. The business/commerce discipline saw a gender pay gap of 14 per cent with female students expecting to be paid less than their male counterparts. The gender pay gap within engineering students is considerably smaller with female students expecting 8 per cent less salary than males.