On December 2, 2022, the nation’s top 66 employers of graduates in 22 industry categories were recognized in a dazzling, invitation-only, exclusive ceremony.
A total of 3,120 students from 52 different tertiary education institutions participated in this annual employment options survey, making this event truly representative of the voice of tertiary students. To further this vision, the top 100 GradStar students of 2022 were on hand to announce the awards and network with top employers, resulting in more than one job offer on that night alone! It was a truly mind blowing mix, rarely found, of the best employers and the best students.
The contribution to inclusion that this event makes cannot be ignored, as it is a unique occasion where representatives from 19 tertiary institutions (the top 100 students) have the chance to mingle with many of the best employers. Typically, only the top five college career fairs have this level of employer participation. This ensures that the GradStar Student Choice Program is truly a life-changing initiative, making a valuable contribution to creating a more inclusive and equitable employment landscape for our talented youth.
GradStar has further demonstrated its commitment to inclusion with the creation of the GradStar App, a unique networking and employment app for students that blends the concepts of LinkedIn and dating apps while limiting the platform to an employment space. exclusive for students and recruiters.
The timing of this event, as BlackBark Productions CEO Laura Barker mentions, is also significant; it took place right in the middle of the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Children. Young people are the catalysts for change, and the organizers and students pledged to align themselves with this initiative.
Another highlight of the event was the GradStar Showcase, featuring three GradStar alumni: Daisy Thobakgale, (Lead Technology Delivery Specialist, Accenture); Shanti Khosa, (Graduate Program in Finance, bp South Africa); and Tshifhiwa Munzhelele, (Associate, Norfund). This was an incredible insight into the relevance and legacy left by the GradStar program. Thobakgale said that because of her attendance at the 2018 GradStar Top 100 event, Accenture recruited her and is now thriving there: she’s received two promotions in the past two years.
Khosa said GradStar prepared her for the world of work through various workshops and webinars hosted by some of the country’s top employers. GradStar helped nurture her presentation and communication skills through the many opportunities presented, including her participation as a panelist at the 2021 Rising Star Summit. She was also recruited by bp Southern Africa through the GradStar app for her current placement within the Graduate Program in Finance of the organization, where he continues to excel.
Munzhelele said that GradStar inspired him with confidence and opened networks for him, from which his NPO Bono Foundation grew. This nonprofit organization builds bridges for high school students to access higher education and related funding, and mentors them throughout their career choice journey by exposing them to different fields and industries.
These three accounts were incredible first-hand testimonials and really set the stage for recruiters in the room, as well as inspiring the GradStar cohort of 2022.
How did this come together?
For the past seven years, BlackBark Productions has operated the GradStar awards program (www.gradstar.com), successfully identifying the most talented and employable college-level students from thousands of entries, and this year was not The exeption. GradStar recognized the top 100 students and announced the “Top 10” on the evening of December 1, 2022.
During the GradStar Awards entry process, thousands of student applicants answer a series of questions related to their employer of choice, salary, expectations, and other pertinent graduate job search research. There are no indications on which companies to choose; Students name their top 5 employers to work for based on their own perceptions and experiences of the employment landscape. Thereafter, once the thousands of responses were filtered, the GradStar team sorted the data into industry categories and the top 3 companies in each category were invited as finalists for the 2022 Momentum Metropolitan Students’ Choice Awards.
The results, based on tertiary-level students’ job perceptions, were sometimes predictable and sometimes surprising.
Laura Barker, founder of the GradStar Awards and CEO of BlackBark Productions, said: “We are delighted to host the Momentum Metropolitan Students’ Choice Awards. These young people are our future and they are here to move the country forward; Your opinions matter, and we need to hear what you think. [about]. We developed the Momentum Metropolitan Students’ Choice Awards as a demonstration of our commitment to our future leaders and corporate South Africa, which has developed some amazing workplace innovations during extremely challenging economic conditions. Congratulations to all the winners.”
Annette Breetzke of Momentum Metropolitan said they chose to support the awards as a commitment to South Africa and its talent. “Many organizations are experiencing a competition for talent. We need to grow the overall talent pool and not compete for the same talent.”
Results:
In addition to announcing the top 3 organizations across industry sectors, an overall tally was conducted, resulting in the night’s big winners: the top 5 overall employers. These were recognized as:
Absa
Deloitte
GNF
DHL
PwC
Top 3 announced, voted for by higher education students in the largest poll of its kind:
| Category | First place | Second place | Third place |
| accounting audit | Deloitte | PwC | KPMG |
| Automotive | Mercedes Benz | bmw | Toyota |
| Banking and financial services | Absa | GNF | standard bank |
| Broadcasting and Media | Multiple choice | SABC | Media24 |
| Consultant | Deloitte | PwC | KPMG |
| Consulting Engineering | Zutari | Hatch | Aecom |
| Energy, Chemical and Heavy Engineering | sasol | Total | bp SA |
| fmcg | Unilever | Coke | tiger markings |
| Health care | Lancet Laboratories | network care | Pathcare |
| health insurance | Discovery | Metropolitan Impulse | Freedom |
| TIC | Accent | Amazon |
| Category | First place | Second place | Third place |
| Industrial Technologies | siemens | KNITTING | tesla |
| Sure | old mutual | sanlam | Santam |
| Legal | archers | Webber-Wentzel | HRC |
| Leisure, travel and hospitality | SAA | southern sun | marriot |
| Mining and Minerals | Anglo-American Platinum | Exxaro | Epiroc |
| Pharmacist | Aspen | johnson and johnson | cipla |
| Property and Construction | WHO | Concor | Moteo Construction |
| Retail sale | Shoprite | woolworths | Massmart |
| SOEs | Transnet | SARB | Eskom |
| telecommunications | Vodacom | mtn | telcom |
| Transport and logistics | DHL | Imperial | FWD |
The comprehensive report provides insight into student preferences for graduate programs and their content, as well as announcing preferred employers, making it a must-read for everyone involved in the graduate recruiting space. The questions were asked by a steering group of graduate recruiters from organizations including McKinsey, Old Mutual, Absa and bp, ensuring that the content is up to date, valid and relevant.
The research report is available for download from the GradStar website www.gradstar.com
