No industry is more popular than the automotive industry among young people embarking on a career. This is shown by the two recent employers’ rankings compiled by the corporate consultants Universum Communications (in the German city of Cologne) and the consulting firm Trendence (located in Berlin).
Universum Communications surveyed how 30,000 students at 140 German universities viewed companies as employers, for the business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. According to the “Student Survey Deutschland 2014,” students of business studies would like to work at Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen and Google. And in fact the top five employers for students of engineering are all firms from the automotive industry: the upcoming engineers see jobs at Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen and Daimler as the most attractive.
Key topics such as vehicle connectivity, automated driving and electric mobility also make automotive manufacturers increasingly popular employers among young computer scientists. Audi came in fourth place for this target group this year, BMW in seventh place and Porsche in ninth, with Daimler and Volkswagen coming in 13th and 14th.
New graduates regard a good salary and a pleasant working environment as the two most important factors when applying for a job. The automotive supply industry scores here, too. Students of engineering rated Bosch ninth, Continental 17th, Bosch Rexroth 20th and ZF Friedrichshafen 26th among the most popular employers in Germany.
“The automotive industry is one of the most exciting industries in the world and offers highly motivated young engineers, economists, developers, designers, commercial clerks and personnel managers promising long-term development opportunities,” said Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). “Our manufacturers and suppliers are global players and at the same time they are reliable providers of jobs and apprenticeships in Germany.” At present the regular workforces of automotive firms in Germany total about 763,000, which means that employment in the industry is at its highest level since December 2004, Wissmann explained.
Furthermore, companies in the automotive industry top the ranking of the “Best Employers 2014,” compiled by the Berlin consultants Trendence for manager magazine. In this survey, around 26,000 students of business and engineering at 125 German universities were asked to indicate their dream employers. As in previous years, BMW and Audi are Germany’s most desirable employers for engineers and economists.
Among the engineering students, Audi and BMW are followed by Porsche, Volkswagen, Siemens, Daimler and Bosch. According to Trendence the graduates are most interested in attractive tasks, opportunities for personal development, appreciation and good leadership. They will find all this in the automotive industry.
