When choosing an employer, young people in Croatia prioritize the opportunity for development and acquiring new skills

The opportunity for development and acquiring new skills is the most important criterion when choosing an employer for as many as 47 percent of young people in Croatia. This is just one of the observations from Deloitte’s report ‘First Steps in the Labor Market’ from 2018, which aims to uncover attitudes towards work, life, and education among more than 5,700 students from leading universities and recent graduates in 14 countries in the region. Additionally, respondents from Croatia value interesting projects and a balance between private and professional life, while salary ranked sixth on the list of priorities.

Poor preparation for the world of work?

“Young people in Croatia have no illusions about the value of formal education,” states Goran Gledić, Deloitte’s leader of human resources in the Adriatic region, and continues, “More than half of the respondents indicate that universities do not prepare them adequately for the labor market, which aligns with employers’ calls for education to be aligned with labor market needs.”

Similar trends are observed in other Central European countries, where less than one-fifth, specifically 19 percent of respondents, believe they are adequately prepared for the realities of working life, and 15 percent believe their education has well-prepared them for job hunting. “These findings are similar to those we saw in our research in 2013 and 2015, indicating that this problem has not disappeared,” commented Gledić.

“Whatever the reality may be, it is concerning that members of this elite group feel poorly prepared, especially since most respondents are still in university or have recently graduated in business-oriented fields. Perhaps the business world and the academic community should collaborate even more directly with students to better understand the root of their dissatisfaction and to create connections between these two worlds that are more tangible and visible so that young people feel more prepared for what awaits them in the labor market.”

Confidence in bloom

Most of these smart and young people in Central Europe have enough confidence to embark on a successful life in a business environment, as evidenced by the fact that 80 percent of them rate their own abilities as better and more advanced compared to their peers. Additionally, about two-thirds of respondents claim that others can easily recognize their leadership potential. They firmly believe they deserve rewards that go hand in hand with success.

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Although some differences between countries can be observed, what is noticeable everywhere is the lack of a realistic view of expectations regarding starting salaries, to the extent that these expectations are significantly above the average salary in their home country. The average salary expected by young people in Croatia is 843 euros, in Latvia they expect as much as 1,591 euros, while their colleagues from Albania are the most modest, expecting only 473 euros as a starting salary. What is encouraging is the reduction of the gap between salary expectations between men and women, which is quite significant compared to the results from 2015. Average salary expectations for men have essentially fallen from 933 euros to 895 euros per month, while women’s expectations have risen from 716 euros to 739 euros.

Solutions to the ‘brain drain’ problem

According to Gledić, “When you look at some of these findings in pairs, you can easily start to piece together an effective strategy for attracting and retaining top talent in the region. For example, the current brain drain that many countries are facing is a real threat to companies in Central Europe. These young people are eager to relocate for work, and many among them believe that employers with multinational backgrounds hold the key to achieving their career aspirations – but they also perceive them as employers offering higher salaries. However, a smaller, local employer with a reputation for excellence in investing in training and education can also leverage this type of advantage in the recruitment market. And then, especially if they promote recognition and rewarding of work, they can further increase their chances of retaining the best young talents. A culture of diversity and inclusion is also a crucial element in attracting the millennial generation – 88 percent of respondents say they like the idea of working in an environment with pronounced diversity, especially an environment that provides opportunities to work and learn from older and more experienced colleagues.”

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Being the best employer

Based on the findings of the research, Deloitte has developed a list of rules and suggestions that together form a handbook that every organization should follow to become the ‘perfect’ employer that attracts talent among millennials. Key points include:

• Quality leadership and guidance
• Allowing democratic decision-making
• Promoting teamwork
• Continuously setting interesting and stimulating tasks and challenges
• Allowing fun in the workplace
• Encouraging further professional education
• Working with universities to nurture the professionals of tomorrow
• Creating a diverse work environment where different generations can learn from each other

Other details can be found in the report itself, which is available at the link First Steps in the Labor Market.