An online poll of 20,000 Canadian university students revealed their top 10 most desirable employers by field — and only two Canadian companies made the top ten IT and Engineering list.
The study, conducted by Universum Global, revealed Google as the most attractive employer to Canadian engineering and IT students, followed by Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. Canadian Space Agency was sixth on the list, and the only other Canadian company, Bombardier, ranked ninth.
Although Canadian tech companies have held up diversity as a selling point, research shows that workplace diversity is now seen as a basic requirement, with earning power an increasingly important factor in attracting new talent.
Another common desire among young students is to have work that matters. Dedication to a cause ranked high on the career aspirations portion of the survey, after work-life balance and job security.
Canadian companies still have work to do to catch up to their US counterparts, but spending more on recruitment marketing, as many US companies do, might be key to attracting new talent.