Universum 2021 Thailand university students’ survey Competitive base salary and Competitive benefits

Universum, a global thought leader in Employer Branding, shared the Thailand findings of its annual global talent survey that measures the level of employer attractiveness of organizations in Thailand’s recruitment market and tracks career aspirations of the future workforce.

Tech giant Google is the number one employer of choice for business/commerce students, whereas PTT, has trumped Google and gained the top position as an ideal employer among engineering students.

Companies in the Hospitality and Retail Industries remain popular despite COVID-19 pandemic

The topmost attractive employer among business/commerce students was Google, followed by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and GMM Grammy, an entertainment giant in Thailand, took the 3rd spot, while King Power, the travel retail group took the 4th spot. The preferred industries amongst the students remained diverse with the Tourism and Hospitality sector coming in first (39%) as the most preferred industry.

Pratik Sabherwal, head of advisory APAC for Universum, said, “Despite the economic impact brought by the pandemic, as well as tighter curbs to contain infections, talent remains optimistic about the outlook of tourism its related industries. This may be excellent news for the country’s recent plan to reboot tourism.”

PTT, EGAT and Stock Exchange of Thailand rank highly attractive in the Most Ideal Employer Rankings, despite students’ strong desire to work in the private sector

Whilst the majority of Thai students aspire to work in the private sector (88% of business/commerce students and 84% of students in the field of engineering), along with 73% of business/commerce students and 74% of engineering students hope to work for an organization with global operations, public-owned firms are still student’s preferred choice to work for.

Public-owned firms, PTT, and Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have made it to the top 3 list of Most Ideal Employer Ranking. The former is ranked as the 1st and 3rd most attractive employer by engineering students, while the Stock Exchange of Thailand is ranked 2nd by business/commerce students.

“During the pandemic, a time when employees of private firms potentially experience sharp drops in salary, future talent may be more open to well-established bodies in the public sector where civil servants’ salaries remain stable. Our survey shows PTT is highly associated with attractive employer characteristics, such as offering a competitive base salary, competitive benefits, secure employment and having a high-performance focus, which are also the top 4 most important attributes engineering students are looking for.” Pratik Sabherwal added.

Google, PTT, Siam Cement Group as the most engaging employers on social media

In terms of usage of communication channels, employer corporate websites remain the most common information source with 52% of respondents saying they relied on it, where 47% of students say they also turn to Facebook and Google+ (41%) to find out about their future employers. Among all university students surveyed, Google, PTT, and Siam Cement Group are ranked as the top 3 most engaging companies on social media.

Facebook is integrated into Thai people’s lives more than other social media channels such as Instagram or LinkedIn. Therefore talent uses both the official company website to learn about the employer and Facebook to see how people are engaging with the company and what kind of content the company is sharing about itself as an employer.

“Employers should tailor their branding by identifying their key differentiators and sharing relevant information when targeting different candidates. Since employers in Thailand are active on Facebook, talent often uses Facebook to get a real understanding of the employee experiences; making the best use of popular platforms will ensure talent gets an understanding about what to expect working at your organization.” Pratik Sabherwal added.

Other highlights in the survey showed that students perceive diversity and inclusion (77%) as the most important topic for employers to address on their social media, preceding the advancement opportunities (75%) and thoughts from company leaders (73%).

Gender pay disparity persists in Business/Commerce and Engineering
The expected annual salary of university students in Thailand averages THB 431,689. Business and commerce students have higher expectation on salary with an average annual remuneration of THB 452 869, whereas that of the engineering cohort is THB 434 663. The business/commerce discipline saw a gender pay gap of 14% with female students expecting less salary than males. The gender pay gap within engineering students is considerably smaller with female students expecting 8% less salary than males.