Irish graduates are overlooking Irish companies in favour of large-scale multinationals based on the island, according to new research by global employer brand specialist, Universum.
This year more than 10,000 Irish university students from 22 universities, in six main fields of study shared their views on the most attractive career paths and employers in the Ireland.
Google took the top spot for both the engineering/IT and business rankings. The remainder of the top ten for both fields of study is also occupied by many other well know multinationals with Bank of Ireland being the only domestic employer to appear in either top ten list.
Outside the top ten is a very different story. Here array of national firms are seen such as AIB in 11th place, The Central Bank of Ireland came in 13th place, while, Jameson (Irish Distillers) followed in 14th place. This was followed by Aer Lingus at 18th place, RTÉ at 19th place and Kerry Group at 20th place. Paddy Power, Glanbia, Enterprise Ireland and Penneys (Primark) also made the top thirty list.
While no Irish firms are represented in the top ten on the engineering/IT rankings, ESB and Aer Lingus sit among the top twenty most attractive employers. Ryanair, Irish Rail and Jameson (Irish Distillers) made the top thirty.
Engineering and IT graduates have the highest salary expectations, deeming €35,951 to be an appropriate average annual salary for their skillset. This is followed by graduates of business and economics, who expect €34,952 on average annually. Graduates of natural sciences and medicine expect the lowest annual salary, an average of €34,729 per year.
The research also finds that females expect a lower average annual salary across a number of industries, with a 10% difference in expected salary between male and female graduates in engineering or IT and a 6% difference between genders in business.
Respondents who classified as ‘Gen Z’ overall expect a higher salary than their ‘Gen Y’ counterparts – Gen Z graduates in business, engineering and IT command a 4% higher salary per year on average.
Speaking this week, General Manager of IrishJobs.ie, Orla Moran said, “With Ireland returning to full employment, employers are challenged now more than ever to go the extra mile in their recruitment efforts and in particular, graduate recruitment. Multinationals have had a transformative effect on the Irish workplace, and they are ahead of the pack in attracting the brightest and best. Irish companies have just as much to offer but need to consider how they showcase themselves to candidates.”
She added, “A key part of this is understanding what their point of difference is, where they can stand out from the crowd and most importantly, how they can position their brand among the right cohort of talent.”
Source: www.businessworld.ie
