The expectations of young European Tech graduates: An unprecedented Discurv study for Sopra Steria

The priorities of young tech graduates

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🔎 According to the results of our study, young European graduates in the Tech sector attach great importance to several criteria in choosing their job, namely:

1. 🤑Remuneration : 49% of young graduates consider remuneration to be the main criterion.

2. 📈Career development opportunities : 44% focus on career development opportunities.

3. 🧘Work-life balance : 43% attach importance to this balance.
   

🌍 Also, more than 80% of young graduates want to work in an international environment, where they can be involved in projects, collaborate with clients abroad, or interact with international colleagues. 54% are also interested in mobility opportunities abroad.

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Flexibility and freedom in the relationship with work: major expectations at the end of studies

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➡️ In addition to remuneration, flexibility and freedom at work are increasingly sought after by young European graduates. Remuneration remains the main criterion for 49% of respondents, but significant differences are observed by gender. The young men prefer more remuneration (53%), while Young women give more importance to professional security (25%).

➡️Development opportunities Careers occupy the second place of the main concerns of new generations (44%), closely followed by The balance between professional and personal life (43%). Note that this last criterion is at the top of the advantages offered by human resources (HR) for 63% of young graduates, revealing their desire to have a greater flexibility at work.

➡️ Indeed, a large majority of young European Tech graduates aspire to work from home two to three days a week (including 90% of young French graduates). In addition, 81% say they are in favor of The 4-day work week (an opinion shared by 87% of young French graduates). 72% even plan to work as a freelancer in the future, including 63% among young French people.

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“The study confirms what we are already seeing in the various European countries: while the new generations remain pragmatic and pay particular attention to remuneration, they are also looking for a balance between their professional and personal lives. In France, the fact that nearly two out of three young graduates plan to become a freelancer is a fundamental trend that perfectly illustrates this need for flexibility. We also observe that the week of four days is very interesting since more than eight French people out of ten are in favor of it. However, in our sector where we are highly dependent on the constraints of Tech professions, this is a still marginal phenomenon on which we lack perspective.”, explains Louis-Maxime Nègre, director of human resources at Sopra Steria.

“On the other hand, what surprised us somewhat was that while environmental, social and ethical issues are key factors in the attractiveness of young European candidates, they are not yet priority criteria in their job search. Perhaps it is because it is an expectation from the business world in general, and not a recruitment lever.”, he adds.

Artificial Intelligence Is Gaining Interest

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🛜 While Web development and programming remain the most popular fields for young European graduates (with 40 and 35% of responses respectively), Artificial Intelligence appears to be an increasingly popular technology (31%), especially among young French and Italians. This interest will probably increase with the development of generative AIs and new business demands.

✅ When it comes to business areas, software and information technology come out on top (52%), ahead of IT - all business sectors combined (48%), engineering and IT consulting (32%) and cybersecurity (25%).

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Different Expectations Based on Experience, Gender, and Geography

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📍 Despite many similarities in the aspirations of young European graduates, disparities remain according to gender, country of origin, and other factors. Understanding these expectations is critical to attracting and retaining talent. Thanks to this multi-country study, Sopra Steria is committed to better meeting the expectations of candidates and to strengthening its status as a reference employer.

In 2023, the Sopra Steria group plans to recruit 7,000 candidates in Europe, including 4,400 in France. The results of this study were essential to guide the tailor-made programs and benefits offered to candidates.

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Methodology

This online study was conducted by Sopra Steria in collaboration with Discurv. It was carried out in twelve countries (France, United Kingdom, Spain, Spain, Spain, Italy, Spain, Italy, Italy, Italy, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Norway) with more than 4,250 young European graduates, between July 18 and September 11, 2023. The full study report is available [here] (link to the full study report).

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