From tenth to first place: Microsoft ranked the Norwegian company most attractive to young people

For the first time, Microsoft has been named the most attractive employer for young employees in Norway, according to the Young Professionals Attractiveness Index.

The survey was published by the recruitment and employment company Academic Work for the sixth time in Norway.

The attractiveness of firms is calculated by three factors. Respondents are asked to rank companies according to reputation, attractiveness and their desire to work there. The sum is the order.

The survey was answered by people who are either in education or even five years into their career.

Google has won all of the first five years, but this year it slipped into second place.

Microsoft was in 10th place in 2020, having taken 3rd place in 2019 and 2018 and 4th place in 2017.

Lots of new guys

Microsoft Norway’s director of human resources, Marianne Ingbrigitsen, said in a press release that the company has worked long-term to recruit young talent and has increased the share over the past year to more than 21 percent.

– With us, they will take part in the coolest projects, get an independent role. We also see that young people are concerned that we have a clear sustainability strategy and diversity in both cultural background, age and education, she says.

Microsoft has also run a major project during the Covid-19 pandemic to promote physical and mental health and activities that stimulate work engagement and pleasure. All employees also received five additional vacation days and an additional bonus.

According to Mats Forolund, Head of Recruitment at Academic Work, Microsoft scores highly in all categories this year.

It is inevitable that many will work with the latest technology and be a part of what affects people’s daily lives. Large parts of Norway have spent 1.5 years in Microsoft Teams now and are constantly reminded of the role they played for so many in being able to communicate and get their work done. I think the combination of big company, international environment, development and influence attracts many. He says in the letter that Microsoft is doing well there.

IBM got the victory of IT developers

Academic work also ranks employers most attractive to young people with technical, financial, and IT backgrounds, respectively.

Microsoft is the top winner in this year’s technology index, while Google won this year’s economy index. The most attractive employer for young people with an IT background is IBM, which is a newcomer to the list.

See our top 20 list of the most attractive employers for those with an IT background and those with a technical background, respectively.

Stable will be in the top ten

The index has seen a number of changes from year to year, and according to academic work, it is clear that it varies with how well companies get through their messages to young employees.

Three companies have managed to put themselves in the top 10 every year for the past three years. These are Google, Microsoft and Sintef.

Big tech companies have been doing well at awards for a long time, but it’s also interesting to see that Sintef is doing well. Research, belonging to a strong professional environment and the opportunity to work with innovation in the most central subject areas affecting society and the future are attractive. It is especially young people with a tech background who are raising Sintef, says Voroland.

Newcomer Vipps

In 2021, Vipps and Tine were in the top ten for the first time in seventh and ninth places, respectively. Norway’s share on the list is 50 percent, having hit a record 70 percent in 2020.

Last year’s runner-up NTNU is completely off the list. The same is true for Tesla, which took second place in 2019.