Johannesburg – Government jobs are no longer as attractive as they have been historically, a survey revealed.
According to Universum Global’s survey on employer attractiveness for students and young professionals, released on Friday, government departments and parastatals have declined in attractiveness from the previous year.
The survey collected responses from 46 981 student and 22 321 professionals across different areas of work such as engineering, science, humanities, law and business, among others. Respondents vote from a list of companies on who they view to be the most attractive employers, Universum explained.
The survey showed that even though government employers are still among the most attractive, this is starting to slowly decline.
For example, among students, in the category of business and commerce the South African Revenue Service (SARS) moved down three places from sixth to ninth place in terms of attractiveness. Similarly, Transnet which ranked third in 2016 dropped eight places to 11. Eskom dropped from position 11 to 20.
Among professionals, Transnet dropped six places from 4, ranking 10th in 2017. SARS also dropped six places from 9th position to 15.
“Traditionally associated with job security and good development opportunities, many government departments and parastatals have consistently been attractive to students,” explained country manager at Universum South Africa Jenali Skuse.
The decline in attractiveness reflects negative media attention some departments received over the year, she explained.
Among private players, the survey also revealed that Google was dominant across most fields. Among professionals, Google ranked first in the fields of business or commerce, humanities, engineering and technology and placed fifth in natural sciences.
Among students Google ranked first for the category in engineering and technology. It remained firmly in top five for business and commerce and humanities.
Findings showed that students are interested in international careers as well as jobs that offer work-life balance, security and stability. The survey also picked up high mobility among experienced employees.
Research manager Winani Ndlovu explained that it was expected to see a low mobility rate by these employees given the high rate of unemployment and a greater need for security and stability.
“Unfortunately getting a job is a need and like all needs, once satisfied individuals start looking into satisfying the next need in the hierarchy.”
Less than half (48%) of experienced employees indicated their intention to change employers within a year. “They are still looking for employers that would offer them professional training and development with leadership that will support their development,” she explained.
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