Can Asia keep its youngest and brightest?

Asia may be one of the world’s most promising markets, but students are still not convinced.

Of 4,300 global students, the majority would still chose New York, London and San Francisco as their career locations of choice, although Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore also broke into Universum’s list of top 10 most attractive cities to work in this year.

Joakim Ström, Universum’s managing director for APAC, said globalisation is causing talent to become more mobile and desire international career opportunities.

“Technological developments have also enabled us to work within and outside the office, to stay connected with our colleagues, friends and loved ones anytime and anywhere using different devices,” Ström said. “In today’s competitive talent landscape, employers need to recognise what matters most to their employees and future talent and be able to meet those expectations or be perceived less attractive than their competitors.”

The report found the biggest factor contributing to the attractiveness of a location is its career opportunities, although culture, entertainment and proximity to family and friends remained important considerations.

Respondents also ranked compensation as a huge driver for a international move, with paid home visits an added bonus for the students surveyed.

The report found commute time to be a big factor when considering work locations, with 70 minutes being the average time respondents were willing to travel.

“Even in a small city like Singapore with good transport infrastructure and the amount of time spent commuting being relatively shorter, employers should remember that work/life balance is the number one career goal among these Millennial talents, regardless of men or women,” Ström said.

He added employers who don’t “consider creative or flexible approaches to address such concerns among their workforce would only stand to lose in the long run”.

Top 10 most attractive countries to work in:

1. United States2. United Kingdom3. Australia4. Canada5. Germany6. France7. Switzerland8. Sweden9. Japan10. Spain

Top 10 most attractive cities to work in:

1. New York2. London3. San Francisco4. Paris5. Sydney6. Berlin7. Stockholm8. Hong Kong9. Los Angeles10. Singapore