Which big-name companies are the most undergraduate-friendly?

28 Sep 2016

Tech giant Microsoft was rated as the best employer, according to reviews submitted by UK undergraduates who were there on placement or internship.

In the Top 100 Undergraduate Employers 2016 – 2017 list, compiled by RateMyPlacement.co.uk, Microsoft knocked Bank of America Merrill Lynch from its previous position in the top spot, moving up five places from last year.

Here are the top 10 undergraduate employers:

Rank	Employer	Previous Rank
1	Microsoft	6
2	Bank of America Merrill Lynch	1
3	Grant Thornton	16
4	Warner Bros	3
5	Hays	38
6	Goldman Sachs Group	5
7	Morgan Stanley	4
8	Taylor Wessing	17
9	Credit Suisse	8
10	PricewaterhouseCoopers	18

Reviews from over 7,000 students who underwent their placement or internship in the 2015/16 academic year were used to put together the list, with Microsoft getting an average of 9.11 out of 10 from students.

Student rated their employers based on factors such as how much responsibility they were given, whether they felt valued by colleagues, their impressions of the company in general, whether they received any training and development opportunities, and the transferable skills they gained.

Lucy Saunders, university recruitment manager at Microsoft, said: “Being number one is both humbling and an honour for our UK intern programme at Microsoft. It means a lot to us that our very own, superb interns have benefited from a meaningful and impactful experience at Microsoft.

“Internally, our interns are extremely well regarded, and they never fail to make huge, positive impact to our UK business and beyond. Integral and core to our intern programme is the belief that our interns should be given as much opportunity as possible to make great impact during their time with us.”

Students vote #Microsoft top employer for undergraduates – https://t.co/t6PCiFTEfG @RateMyPlacement pic.twitter.com/nwbjH5oyZm

— Andrew Trotman (@TechieTrotman) September 22, 2016

Previously, the top positions have often been taken up by financial services firms, but Microsoft’s jump to the top shows that other industries can make their mark and improve their internship programmes.

This year’s list saw companies in the recruitment, professional services, and law sectors making huge strides into the top 10, one of the biggest being recruitment firm Hays, which leaped from 38 to five.

Several large corporations broke into the top 100 for the first time, including two pharmaceutical companies – Pfizer (97) and AstraZeneca (99). Other notable new entries include Transport for London (74), Virgin Media (92), and EDF Energy (100), as well as the consultancy and construction firm Mace Ltd (62).

Trends in the undergraduate employment market have also been positive, with the number of placements available to undergraduates at the top 100 companies rising by 32 percent in the past four years, while the average salary for those undergoing internship programmes has gone up by 7.3 percent, reported Times Higher Education.

You can check out the full list at http://www.ratemyplacement.co.uk/top-employers.

Image via Unsplash