JPMorgan and HSBC are top workplace choices for business students while Hong Kong government is first pick for engineering students, survey finds
- JPMorgan and HSBC have been voted the top two employers by Hong Kong’s business and commerce students in a survey
- The Hong Kong government was the employer of choice in the survey conducted among engineering and natural sciences students
Hong Kong universities’ business and commerce students have voted JPMorgan and HSBC the top two employers as potential jobseekers prioritise “a friendly work environment” over higher salaries, a survey by a talent advisory firm published on Thursday showed.
The survey, conducted between October 2022 and April 2023, interviewed 4,179 students from nine universities in Hong Kong pursuing degrees in business, commerce, engineering, natural sciences, humanities, liberal arts and education. It also revealed that students’ expected annual salary upon graduation fell 3 per cent to HK$292,900 a year or about HK$24,400 per month, reflecting the weak outlook in the face of the current economic slowdown.
The survey was conducted by Universum, which is part of Nasdaq-listed investment firm StepStone Group. It was part of an annual global survey conducted by the firm, whose focus is on employer branding, to gauge career aspirations and preferences of Hong Kong’s next-generation talent.
JPMorgan and HSBC retained their top positions from 2022, and in 2023 they were followed by Morgan Stanley, which jumped three places from the previous year. Google and the Hong Kong government rounded out the top five positions, respectively.
They were ahead of bigger firms like Apple and Goldman Sachs, but they both received a more favourable response from engineering and natural sciences students. Although the Hong Kong government slipped by a spot in its rankings among business and commerce students, it was voted the most ideal employer by engineering and natural sciences students for the fourth straight year.
“We are seeing young talent in Hong Kong prioritising work environment and career development over financial earnings and salary, a trend that can be seen in many of the more developed markets worldwide,” said Mike Parsons, managing director of APAC for Universum.
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“Tomorrow’s workforce are highly motivated by acknowledgement and growth opportunities that enable them to feel valued and included in their community, with financial compensation often coming second,” he said.
This year, students ranked “a friendly work environment” their top preference, continuing the trend from 2022, the survey showed. “Professional training and development” and “encouraging work-life balance” were the next two factors that mattered most when seeking employment.
On the other hand, “high future earnings” was ranked lower than the previous year, declining by two places to fourth position. This reversed the trend of 2022’s survey, when students expected a 19 per cent increase in annual salary in comparison with 2021 levels.
This highlighted the shift in expectations from students, as they increasingly prioritised personal well-being over higher financial earnings, according to Universum.
It also reflected the preference for job security as “students are likely aware of the shift away from the Great Resignation period and into a less certain economic environment where high-profile lay-offs are more common, and hence are more prudent in their salary expectations”, the survey said.
Among students studying business and commerce, expected salaries decreased by 6 per cent to HKD279,700 per year, while engineering and natural sciences students expected a relatively smaller decrease of 2 per cent to HK$299,200 per year, compared with 2022. In 2023, the gender gap on expected annual salary in the city widened to 9 per cent with expected salaries of men at HK$320,700 and women at HK$293,400 per year. This compares with a 7 per cent pay gap expected in 2022 which was the lowest in five years.
Every year Universum surveys over 1 million students and professionals worldwide to identify top companies’ reputation as a place to work.
