Companies who offer to pay off graduate debts are becoming increasingly sought after by today’s new entrants to the job market, a new survey reveals.
Over a quarter of employees in their twenties rate the provision of student debt assistance as an important factor when deciding whether to apply for a new job, according to the survey by youatwork which questioned 1000 employees throughout the UK on benefit choices. This supports earlier research carried out by the Association of Graduate Recruiters, which found that a third of employers are paying joining bonuses to this year’s graduate recruits.
However, workers in their thirties are far more keen on looking for help from their employer to balance the demands of work with childcare. A third of this age group look for childcare assistance, and over half rate the ability to work from home as an important factor in assessing whether to apply for a job.
Across all ages, pension provision still tops the list of the most important benefits for nearly nine in ten (86%) job hunters, with flexible working coming second (80%), ahead of both private medical insurance (77%), and dental care (54%).
The top three benefits cited when looking for a new job were pensions (75%) flexible working (61%) and private medical insurance by just over half of the respondents.
