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The banks have become more attractive among young people

Four banks are among the 25 most attractive employers among young academics, a number that has doubled since last year. This is the result of a new survey from Academic Work. Nordea and Jyske Bank are among those on the list, which also includes Nykredit Bank and Danske Bank

26. Nov 2020
3 min

Four banks are among the 25 most attractive employers among young academics, a number that has doubled since last year. This is the result of a new survey from Academic Work. Nordea and Jyske Bank are among those on the list, which also includes Nykredit Bank and Danske Bank

The banks have become more attractive for young academics. This is the result of a new survey from the recruitment and consultancy company Academic Work, which each year investigates the employers that young academics in Denmark – the so-called Young Professionals – find most attractive.

Four banks are among the 25 most attractive companies among the so-called Young Professionals, which range from young people commencing a 3-year academic education to academics who have completed their educations and have up to 5 years’ work experience.

This figure is twice as high as last year, where Nykredit Bank and Danske Bank were the only ones on the list. Among the new banks are Nordea and Jyske Bank, which landed on 22nd and 23rd place, respectively, followed by Nykredit and Danske Bank on 24th and 25th place. Lego, Novo Nordisk and Google top the list.

“The most important explanation for the popularity of the banks is that the financial sector as been better at branding itself towards young people and that the sector has hired more young people than before, who are generally proud of what they do. The work they do is meaningful to them and gives them a clear purpose, whether it is to work with AML and help the bank avoid a new money laundering scandal or to safeguard Danish companies, citizens and society,” says Daniel Magnusson, managing director of Academic Work, to Nyhedsbrevet Finans.

Most young people want to work at Jyske Bank

Young people who are studying or have completed an economics or financial education rank the four banks even higher. Nordea lands on 18th place on the list of the 25 most attractive companies, followed by Jyske Bank and Nykredit on 19th and 20th and then Danske Bank on 24th place. Lego is again number one, followed by Arla and Vestas.

The list is based on a weighted score that establishes which companies the young academics within finance and economy assess as the having the best reputation, greatest success and where they would rather work. And there are several surprises hidden in the individual figures.

Nordea scores the most points when it comes to reputation, followed by Jyske Bank, Nykredit Bank and Danske Bank. Nordea also get most points for having most success, followed by Nykredit, Jyske Bank and Danske Bank. However, when young economy and finance academics have to specify where they would rather work, the picture changes. Most want to work at Jyske Bank, then Nykredit Bank and Danske Bank, while the fewest want to work at Nordea.

“Danske Bank's general reputation among the population is not very good, and this shows in the survey. However, those who know Danske Bank from the inside think that it is a good company and would like to work there. Nordea does not have the same negative reputation as Danske Bank, but those that work at Nordea do not think that the workplace is as good. So it is perhaps easier for Nordea to attract young academics to the bank, but they are not as good at retaining them as Danske Bank,” says Daniel Magnusson, managing director of Academic Work.

Behind the survey

The survey, Young Professional Attraction Index, is performed by the recruitment and consultancy company Academic Work, in collaboration with the analysis institute Kantar Gallup. 1008 so-called Young Professionals participated in the survey.

“Young Professionals” ranges from young people who are starting a 3-year academic education in Denmark to academics who completed their education and have up to 5 years’ experience.

In the survey, the young people must specify which companies they think have the best reputation, greatest success and where they would prefer to work. A weighted average of the responses indicates which employers the young academics find most attractive.

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