Education tops workers' choice

The University of Auckland jumped to fifth most attractive workplace. Photo / Dean Purcell

The education and training services sector has been ranked New Zealand's most attractive sector by workers across the country.

Results from the 2016 Randstad Award employer branding research found 33.08 per cent of New Zealand respondents said they would like to work for companies within the education and training services sector - the second year in a row the sector has taken the top spot.

The media sector was ranked second, with 31.87 per cent, jumping from last year's fifth place, and the professional services sector took third place at 31.09 per cent.

As well as taking the top spot, individual organisations within the education sector were also viewed by workers as attractive places to work.

The University of Auckland jumped to fifth most attractive workplace, from 10th last year, and Victoria University of Wellington soared 12 places to seventh.

The education and training services sector is one which is consistently seen as being attractive to jobseekers, Brien Keegan, country manager of Randstad New Zealand, said.

"The education and training services sector has often been seen as stable for jobseekers. Regardless of how well the economy is operating, the perception is that there will always be a need for educators," he said.

This year seven of the top 20 organisations are from the education and training services sector and include a number of tertiary institutions, including Unitec and the University of Waikato.

Respondents felt the sector had many appealing attributes, Mr Keegan said, citing being environmentally and socially aware, a good work-life balance, interesting job content and ongoing training opportunities.

The Randstad Award employer branding survey is taken by 200,000 potential job seekers from across 25 countries, including 7017 New Zealanders of working age.