Google, Health Canada top employers for students

Google and Health Canada are the most attractive employers for students in their categories, according to Universum Global’s annual ranking.

Google tops the list when it comes to students picking their preferred employer in the business and engineering/IT categories, while Health Canada was number 1 in the natural sciences and health/medical categories, based on a survey of 20,676 students from 162 universities and colleges across Canada.

The United Nations and Canadian Department of Justice were also tops in their categories (see full list below).

When it comes to the top preferences when ranking employer attractiveness, “high future earnings” (50 per cent), “secure employment” (46 per cent) and “professional training and development” (42 per cent) rank as the top attributes of importance for Canadian post-secondary students.

“This next generation of graduates will have a tremendous influence on Canadian employment trends, which is why understanding their preferences and career goals is so critical for employer branding and recruitment efforts,” said Jason Kipps, managing director of Universum Canada.

While salary expectations have increased, the gender gap regarding salary expectations has decreased, found Universum. Women still expect about $5,000 to $6,000 less than their male counterparts when entering the workforce.

For students entering the workforce in business fields, the gender gap in expected salary is $5,983 (compared to $6,696 in 2018) and for students in engineering/IT, the gap is $4,812 (compared to $6,935 in 2018).

When looking at generational differences, gen Y students expect to make more than gen Z (for business students, the salary expectation difference is $57,648 for gen Z versus $54,404 for gen Y, whereas for engineering/IT students it’s $64,866 for gen Z and $62,457 for gen Y).