Based on more than 9 500 employer evaluations, reflecting the opinions of over 2600university students, HSBC rises to the top and takes the lead from HKSAR

　　Hong Kong -- Universum APAC recently announcedthe results of its annual employer image survey: HSBC becomes Hong Kong’s ideal employer for business students, taking the first spot from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), which now ranks in the second position. J.P. Morgan keeps ranked as number 3. HKSAR, however, still keeps the first spot on the engineering ranking, followed by MTR Corporation but now having the Airport Authority of Hong Kong on the third spot. Based on the frequency of being selected as an ideal employer by students, Universum produces an ideal employer ranking, dubbed the Universum Top 100. The rankings reflect the level of employer attractiveness that companies or organisations have in Hong Kong’s recruitment market.“A strong financial comeback plus a possibility of changing corporate headquarters to Hong Kong might be the reasons for HSBC new position”, says Johan Ramel, CEO of Universum APAC.

　　Regarding student career preferences, ‘To be secure or stable in my job’ becomes increasingly important now being stated by 44% of students, a 7% growth compared to 2010. ‘To have work/life balance’ is also on the rise, growing 7% to an amazing 58% of the student preferences. Losing ground is ‘To be competitively or intellectually challenged’, now with only 25% of students’ preferences (30% in 2010). In UNIVERSUM’s research, students are asked to choose their most important career goals, being able to select up to 3 options. Regarding employer reputation and image, Hong Kong’s students were asked to select the three most attractive qualities of an ‘ideal employer’ in general. Among a number of potential attributes, 56 per cent selected ‘Professional training and development’, and ‘Will enable me to have good work/life balance’ as well as ‘Good reputation’ were important for 55 and 48 per cent respectively.

　　Johan Ramel, CEO of Universum APAC, commented on this year’s rankings, “Honk Kong’s students choose safe or secure employers, those that are either well-established in the market or are strong multinational brands. Our research shows that the majority of students would like to work for large organisations – since only a minority (21 per cent) chose micro or small employers (between 1 to 100 employees)”. Johan commented further, “Competition for a job at one of the top-3 employers is tough! More than half of the Business and Engineering/Natural Sciences students in Hong Kong want to work for one of the top-3 ranked employers.”

　　The first 10 ideal employers, segmented by students’ field of study are:

　　Business:1. HSBC, 2. HKSAR Government, 3. J.P. Morgan, 4. Morgan Stanley, 5. Swire Group, 6. KPMG, 7. Cathay Pacific Airways, 8. Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., 9. Goldman Sachs, 10. MTR Corporation

　　Engineering: 1. HKSAR Government, 2. MTR Corporation, 3. Airport Authority Hong Kong, 4.Cathay Pacific Airways, 5. HSBC, 6. Google, 7. Swire Group, 8. Hongkong Electric, 9. Microsoft, 10. CLP Group 

　　To view the Universum Top 100, go to http://www.universumglobal.com/HK-ranking

　　If you’d like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview, contact Charlie Li. Email: Charlie.Li@universumasia.comTel: +86 21 6391 9417.

　　About the Universum Top 100 Ideal Employer Rankings – Hong Kong Edition

　　The results are based on the answers of 2640 students studying in Hong Kong, and 9 632 individual employer evaluations. Each respondent is presented with a list of 100 to130 national and international employers, nominated by the target group through an independent and structured nomination and assessment process, which prevents companies unfairly influencing their position. Respondents acknowledge those companies they would consider working for. Of the companies selected as ‘considered employers’, the respondents then select their five ‘Ideal Employers’. The rankings, dubbed the Universum Top 100, measure the level of employer attractiveness of companies or organisation on the recruitment market.

　　About Universum

　　Universum is an international company which specialises in the field of employer branding*. Founded in 1988, its goal was to improve communication between students and the employers who want to recruit them. Today, Universum’s mission is to help employers excel in recruitment and retention by ensuring improvements to their employer brand. Universum delivers a full range of services in research, strategic consulting and communication solutions that enable employers to better understand, attract and retain current and future ideal employees. Universum is a trusted partner to 1,200 clients, including many Fortune 500 companies, and co-operates with 1,500 universities worldwide to conduct research on the career and employer preferences of top talent. Last year, Universum surveyed over 400,000 students and professionals worldwide. For more information, go to www.universumglobal.com

　　*Employer branding is the strategy companies use to appeal to desired current and future ideal talent.