A talent survey to help determine the career goals and ideal employers for Egyptian graduates, conducted by Universum Global, showed that four out of ten students complain that lack of sufficient information from companies is a major factor affecting their choices in workplace.
On the other hand, the survey noted that Google remains the employer of choice for Egyptian engineering and information technology (IT) talent, while Apple has taken the top spot in the business ranking.
Furthermore, the survey found that being autonomous and independent is a more important career goal than job security for Egyptian talent.
Not surprisingly, most Egyptian graduatees want to work for an international company or organisation, according to the survey.
For the survey, Universum reached out to more than 6,335 future employees from five main fields of study and 12 Egyptian universities to share their opinion and views on their career goals and ideal employers.
Arda Ertem, Universum’s regional director, pointed out that the number of Egyptian students who participated this year almost doubled, compared to 2016.
He added that it is a clear reflection of talents’ interest in sharing their opinions with companies, to try to create better career opportunities for themselves and attempt to deliver their message to the employers.
A major result of the survey was ranking the career aspirations and preferences of the future Egyptian talent pool.
The study showed that the students mentioned innovation, professional training and development, and international work opportunities as the most attractive employer attributes that they seek in their future careers.
According to the survey, business students mostly chose banking as their top work sector choice, while those studying engineering chose software and computer services as their preferred industries.
“Even though construction is not among the top 3 industry choices, a few of the big players have managed to secure their spots among [the] top ten ideal employers which proves that industry and employer selections might not always go hand in hand and the same trend is observed for fast moving consumer goods firms (FMCG) in which such employers as Unilever, P&G, Nestle and L’Oréal pave their way to [the] top 30 even if the industry is not attractive as a whole,” according to Universum.
About 41% of Egyptian students in business and engineering/IT polled said that not knowing enough about an employer is the first reason they don’t consider working at a given company.
Meanwhile, 15% said that insufficient career advancement opportunities is a factor negatively affecting their view of a company, making it the second most cited reason.
Digital means dominate the list of the top information sources that students use to learn about employers and what they offer, and social media is by far the number one method utilised.
Therefore, Universum Global says, it is important for companies to have a well-defined, multi-channel digital strategy that can cut through the noise to define who comapnies are, especially by focusing on employees’ experiences.
“This is why, we advise the companies to define and validate their employer value propositions that will ultimately help them control their employer brand in the direction they wish,” Ertem said.
Universum is an international corporation that delivers surveys to millions of students and professionals and provides research on ideal employers, full-service communications, and strategic consulting services.
The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) previously announced that Egypt’s unemployment rate dipped below 12% in the second quarter (Q2), the first time it has been that low since the political uprising of 2011. It has further dipped to 11.98% from 12% in Q1 of 2017.