Some interesting insights have emerged from Universum’s most recent and extensive talent research survey to date. With over 45,000 university students and approximately 22,000 young professionals participating in the survey, Universum has scene a trend emerging amongst some of the country’s most in-demand talent.
Most of the rarest skills with the highest demand are mentioned as those in the IT and engineering spheres. Universum surveys both students and professionals with these backgrounds in an effort to understand what is important to this key target group and which employers they view as attractive and why.
With the amount of demand for this talent we see the typical engineering and technology industries coming up as the most preferred industries, however we start to see the interest in other previously non-typical engineering industries increase.
Students tend to have a more idealistic view of the employment with innovation being the most important attribute they are looking for from an employer followed by a creative and dynamic work environment. They show an understanding of their perception of working in an engineering and technology environment and the need to be innovative and creative.
While students are looking for innovation and creativity, experienced hires understand that for that to be possible they need professional training and development as well as leadership that with support their development before innovation.
Would both students and professionals then be more loyal to the employers in their preferred industries? The insights reveal that students go on and look for employment in the industries that they prefer, however retention becomes a challenge as this skillset is in demand. While the competition for this talent increases, we see a great need for employers to clearly articulate their employer brand to ensure they attract and retain the right target talent as retention is still a major human resources management challenge.
While many experts claim they can predict the next trends within the employment sector, Universum’s year-on-year and in-depth research enables the team to accurately understand and predict what young talented job seekers are really looking for in terms of future employment.
The survey covers a range of study and professional categories including business and commerce, technology and engineering, and natural sciences. The survey’s diverse range of respondents and questions means that a range of qualitative and quantitative data is interpreted to uncover an extensive range of insights and trends. These include employer preferences, salary expectations, concerns relating to employment, goals, both short and long term, expectations around training and development, the importance of corporate culture, and much more.
Which organisations are then ranked as the most attractive employers?
Universum will announce the most attractive employers at an event on June 25th 2018.
