Australia’s top graduate employers for 2020

Every year, the Top 100 Graduate Employers report looks at the state of the workforce in Australia for graduates. The report is published by the Australian Financial Review in partnership with GradConnection, revealing the industries that are popular with graduates, and the most appealing job opportunities.   

There are some significant differences compared to last year’s report: 

• Engineering and design firm Arup ranked 16th up from 61 last year 
• ‘Big 4’ bank NAB ranked 8th up from 22nd in 2019 
• The Queensland Government took 17th place, up from 38 last year 
• Telecommunications giant Telstra dropped from 13th to 42nd place 
• Jacobs engineering group slid down to 35th place after raking at 19th last year 

This year’s top two employers maintain their position from last year, with Deloitte taking the top spot and PwC placing second. All of the Big Four accounting firms placed in the top five — the AFR says that the reasoning behind this is likely that the Big Four accounting firms consistently score well by offering graduates flexibility and a range of different skills. Three of the Big Four banks placed within the top 10.  

Here are the top 10 graduate employers in Australia for 2020 

1. Deloitte 

2. PwC 

3. KPMG 

4. NSW Government 

5. EY 

6. Westpac Group 

7. IBM 

8. NAB 

9. Commonwealth Bank 

10. Aurecon 

The report also explored the different qualities that employers are looking for in graduates — the main ones being an understanding of data, proactivity and critical thinking skills.  

You can read up on the full report and see top 100 here. 

Related links 

• How international students can use LinkedIn to their advantage 

• The ultimate cover letter guide for international students 

• Should you be considering a virtual internship?