Eishkom tops jobs poll

Eskom might be leaving millions of South Africans in the dark through load-shedding, but that has not deterred engineering students from wanting to work there.

The energy supplier was named most attractive employer by engineering students at the 2015 Universum Most Attractive Employer awards yesterday.

Universum employer branding consultant Jenali Skuse attributed Eskom's appeal to its reputation for treating employees "very well".

"Eskom gives bursaries to a large number of South African students, meaning students are socialised into the company culture and know what it offers from a very early stage," Skuse said.

More than 44600 students at 25 tertiary institutions and 21374 professionals were surveyed between July and October last year.

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Research revealed that 63% of students were concerned about the prospects of finding jobs after graduation.

According to findings, secure and stable employment, professional training and development, as well as career mobility attracted students to working for government.

The departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Higher Education and Training, and Health were voted best by science, humanities and health sciences students, respectively.

Business and law students voted for KPMG accounting firm and Legal Aid as the most attractive employers.

Female job seekers expected to earn less than their male counterparts, with a R41178.80 gender gap for business students and R18569.90 for engineering students.

The rankings also revealed that Transnet became more attractive across the board, while the retail industry became less attractive, with the exception of Woolworths.

Young South Africans were further found to be following global trends and becoming more "picky", seeking stronger focus on the people and culture in organisations.

Professionals within the business and engineering sectors found Google more attractive, while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research attracted those in the sciences.

Though Google has a fairly small staff in South Africa, Universum Africa managing director Roger Manfredsson said its attractive employer profile resulted in its attractiveness in the market.