Students name HKSAR Government as ideal employer
University students in Hong Kong have named the HKSAR Government as their ideal employer. Over 4,000 students from various fields took part in the Wetfeet Talent Insider Review, conducted by Universum. The HKSAR Government moved up one place from second position in 2012, pushing the former number one—HSBC—off the top spot.
The survey also revealed that, while keen to find a secure job with a friendly working atmosphere and a good work- life balance, Hong Kong students are less interested in a job with international travel or relocation implications—the popularity of international careers dropped by 7%.
Ankiti Modi, Country Manager, UNIVERSUM commented, “As the world’s top financial centre—ahead of the US, UK and Singapore—and poised to become the world’s biggest financial centre by 2016, Hong Kong is definitely making a stronger presence today than ever. With the world’s attention on Asia with Hong Kong at its heart, it is no wonder that future talent generally feel a great sense of pride to work in the city upon graduation and give less emphasis to having an international career or having opportunities for international travel or relocation.”
New kids on the block
The banking sector continues to be the most attractive industry for Business students to work in after graduation. Engineering student favour the Engineering and Manufacturing industry while those in Humanities chose Media and Advertising.
The companies that most shook up the rankings were CLP Group, DBS Bank and HK Electric. CLP Group leapt 22 places in the business category, DBS Bank rose 24 places in the engineering category and HK Electric jumped 38 places in the humanities category.
Out of favour
At the other end of the scale, General Electric and Royal Bank of Scotland fell out of the Top 100 in the Business and Engineering categories, respectively. LG barely managed to stay in the Top 100 range after plunging 47 places. Whilst the second and third top employer spots for Business students were claimed by HSBC and JP Morgan, local banks are increasing in popularity. Hang Seng Bank climbed six places to reach 14th, while the Bank of East Asia reached 39th place, a rise of 18 places.
Salary expectations
This year’s survey revealed that Hong Kong students’ expectations of remuneration have risen to HKD17,578—an 11% rise on last year. The Engineering cohort had the biggest increase in salary expectations at 16%, to HKD17,248. The importance of high future earnings proved to have significantly increased for Business students this year when compared to last, becoming the attribute that they consider third-most important.
With increasing importance being placed on job security by Business students, and also on high future earning by students in the Auditing and Accounting industry, the Big 4—PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG—have been seen steadily working their way up the leader board since 2011. Currently, Deloitte is most popular at fifth place but each of the four made it into the Top 10.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
