Energy industry less attractive to potential workers: survey
THE ENERGY industry has become less attractive to talent while strong lifestyle brands are on the rise, according to a survey by Universum, a research and consulting firm.
The company polled business and engineering/IT students in the world’s 12 largest economies (the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Italy, Russia, France, Japan, China, India and Australia) on which companies they favoured as prospective employers. More than 267,000 millennials responded to Universum’s Talent Survey.
To make it on to the firm’s list of the “World’s Most Attractive Employers”, a company must rank in the top 10 per cent in at least six regional markets. If an employer is not listed or is ranked outside the top 90 per cent in a market, it gets a default ranking that is equal to the position of the last company in the top 90 per cent for that market.
Results are weighted by gross domestic product, so a high ranking in the US has a greater influence than a high ranking in India, for example.
Business and engineering/IT students are in pursuit of a lifestyle with a good balance between work and personal time. A well-balanced lifestyle is the No 1 career ambition in both fields of study for all countries except India, where having an international career is considered more important, and Russia, where job security is key.
Overall, engineering/IT talent tends to have more in common with its peers in other markets than business students in their own countries.
Very little localisation of the employer value proposition is required for most English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. Meanwhile the differentiation in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrates that there is no clear outline in connection to what is considered attractive. Japan is especially distinct from any other country Universum surveyed.
A definite “Western European pattern” does exist. This could be because of the close geographical proximity of the countries in the region, but it most likely has more to do with alternative career paths available for millennials in these markets. For example, students interested in manufacturing jobs have much better access to high-school-level technical schooling and union protections than in other markets covered.
On the engineering/IT side, Google retains its top position, followed by Microsoft, Apple, BMW Group and IBM, which took over General Electric’s spot at No 5. On the business rankings, Apple, which moved up five spots from seventh to second, place is challenging Google for the top position, followed by EY (Ernst & Young) and Goldman Sachs. PricewaterhouseCoopers fell three places to fifth place.
Banks, tech firms competing
Banks are struggling to compete with tech firms for business talent, and as a result certain banks have fallen in the rankings. However, because of the interest of engineering/IT talent in joining professional- and financial-services firms, some banks made strong advances in the engineering/IT rankings.
There have also been mixed fortunes for consumer-goods companies, with strong “lifestyle” brands doing better than others, such as Nike debuting on the ranking at 16, ahead of the Adidas group at 19.
There is a stable attractiveness for the automotive industry, with the exception of Volkswagen, for both business and engineering/IT talent.
There have been significant declines in attractiveness for hardware-focused information-technology firms and electronics manufacturers, and the energy industry is noticeably less attractive after the collapse in oil and gas prices. However, renewable-energy companies have seen a spike in popularity among both sets of talent.
Universum (www.universumglobal.com) is an insight-driven research and consulting firm specialising in employer branding.
