Survey names students’ most desired employers in Vietnam

PetroVietnam, the country’s oil and gas behemoth, received the most “yes” from local engineer students when asked by a recent survey which local employer they most desire to work for, while Unilever remains the top choice for business majors.

PetroVietnam leapfrogged the 2014 favorite, Vinamilk, the country’s largest dairy producer, into the top spot this year, according to the Top 100 IDEAL Employers student survey.

Consumer goods group Unilever is the most ideal employer for those studying business for the second straight year.

These findings are those recorded in Vietnam as part of an annual global survey conducted by employer branding firm Universum, the company said Thursday in a press release.

The survey, which attracted more than 21,000 participating university students from the Southeast Asian country, is intended to track career aspirations and preferences of the future talent pool, according to Universum.

The most coveted employers in Vietnam in the survey earn their recognition solely on the responses collected, the company noted.
When asked about their most important career goal upon graduation, almost one in two students, or 49.8 percent, considers ‘to have work/life balance’ as one of their top priorities, according to the survey findings.

Although falling three percentage points from 2014, work/life balance remains firmly as the most desired career goal among students, sending a clear message to employers who really want to attract Vietnam’s best talent.

Following work/life balance, Vietnamese talent wants ‘to be dedicated to a cause or to feel that I am serving a greater good’ (43.39 per cent) and ‘to be secure or stable in my job’ (38.82 per cent).

Declining in desirability since last year is ‘to have an international career’, slipping two spots down the list, from third to fifth.

On the other hand, when evaluating employer attractiveness, young Vietnamese appear to be more practical-minded as they deem remuneration and advancement opportunities – particularly ‘high future earnings’ – to be the most appealing.

This is reflected in their salary expectations upon graduation which averages VND 13.16 million (US$613) per month, far exceeding the actual salary level of an average fresh graduate in the country and an increase of almost 5 percent from their expectations a year ago.

However, employers in Vietnam need not be unduly concerned.

According to the survey, other key differentiators to undergraduates between a more attractive employer and a less ‘ideal’ one to work for include ‘a creative and dynamic work environment’ and ‘professional training and development’.

These attributes, especially the offer of increased training opportunities, are much easier for employers to address that issue like reputation and financial strength, which take a lot longer to improve.

Other key findings from the survey are that FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) remains the most attractive industry for Vietnamese business talent, and domestic banks outperform their international counterparts.

No less than four of the top ten ideal employers coming from the FMCG sector, whereas there are only four international banks among the eleven banks that feature in the top 50 ideal employers for business students.

The Top 10 IDEAL Employers among Business and Engineering are as follows:

The survey results are based on the answers of 21,187 students studying for degrees in business/commerce, engineering, natural sciences, IT, humanities/liberal arts/education, law and health/medicine, with 58,137 individual evaluations of 120 employers, according to Universum.

Each respondent is asked questions about their career preferences, expectations and employment related drivers and then presented with a list of 120 national and international employers, nominated by the target group through an independent and structured nomination and assessment process, which prevents companies unfairly influencing their positions.

Universum is a leader in employer branding, providing end-to-end solutions that empower organizations to become better at attracting, recruiting and retaining top talent.

Source : http://tuoitrenews.vn/