Graduates' pick

EVERY YEAR THE same group of about 30 to 40 South African employers are on the preferred lists of graduates in different professions, MBAs and young business people. In the Magnet Graduate Survey for 2006 - the third and most comprehensive yet by Magnet Communications, the SA subsidiary of the Swedish Universum Communications - graduates in commerce chose Absa as their ideal employer, followed by KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BMW SA and Deloitte. Last year, KPMG was chosen as the top employer and in 2004 BMW SA received the laurels. Although the rankings differ year to year, it's the third successive year that the same names have achieved a top five place. "This year's 12 283 respondents were 28% more than in the previous survey," says Anders Keen, a director at Magnet Communications. "The greater participation also means that a more accurate picture is obtained." Among the respondents, the majority (45,2%) were from commerce, followed by 36,2% from science and engineering, with fewer than 20% from other disciplines. The average age of commerce graduates was 23, while that of the science and engineering group was 22. Around 51% of the respondents were female. The racial mix was 54,9% black, 26,5% white, 8,4% Indians/Asians and 6,9% coloured. The rest declined to state their race. Keen says that the order of preference of the science and engineering group changes more each year than that of commerce graduates. Sasol - chosen for the second successive year as the ideal employer by this group and second after BMW SA in 2004 - has so far been the most consistent. Eskom, second in this year's rankings, was fourth last year and eighth in 2004. De Beers, ninth this year, was seventh last year and only 90th in 2004. This year's top five were: Sasol, Eskom, SA Breweries, Angloplats and BMW SA. "It's striking that graduates are increasingly insisting on jobs overseas, flexible hours and family time - conditions that weren't negotiable in the past," Keen says. The target groups don't agree on which company they regard as the top employer. In last year's survey, young business people chose Investec, BMW SA, SA Breweries, Rand Merchant Bank and Anglo American. And MBA graduates' top employers were SA Breweries, BMW SA, Rand Merchant Bank, the World Bank and Vodacom. Keen says: "Employers are involved in a talent war." He says BMW SA's parent company in Germany is one of the very best examples worldwide of how a company can skim the cream of employees. "That group gets about 300 000 job applications a year, from which it can only employ 3 000 - 1%. If you're seen as one of the best employers every year, it's obvious you'll be able to attract the talent."