HSG presents comprehensive study on Gen Z and the labour market

Image: HSG students at the HSG Talents career fair.

“Among students at HSG and throughout Switzerland, we are seeing a shift in values: power and performance for the sake of performance are less important. Collaborative work and meaningful performance have become more important,” says Gerd Winandi-Martin. He heads Career & Corporate Services (CSC) at HSG. CSC connects students with companies and provides around 2,000 free individual consultations for students each year. CSC also maintains a job platform for HSG students, which advertises over 1,600 positions each year. 

CSC has now completed a study that highlights the workplace-related interests, competencies and values of Generation Z at HSG. Gen Z comprises those born between 1995 and 2010. As of the cut-off date in the autumn semester of 2024, around 95 per cent of all HSG students belonged to this generation. The CSC evaluated anonymised data from a good 2,300 students for the study. 

Key role of Gen Z for the Swiss labour market

“The study offers companies important insights into Gen Z,” says Winandi-Martin. This generation is playing an increasingly important role in the Swiss labour market: together with Gen Y, Gen Z currently accounts for over half of the Swiss working population. “In the current skills shortage, it is crucial for companies to target future employees,” says Winandi-Martin. He sees the CSC as a mediator that helps HSG students find the right job for them – while also supporting companies in getting in touch with suitable applicants.

Dietmar Grichnik, Vice President Innovation & Quality, also emphasises the importance of the service: “The University of St.Gallen attaches great importance to the employability of its graduates. With their in-depth analyses and advice, our Career Services ensure that our students have the best opportunities on the job market and that our corporate partners have access to excellent students.”

The 2,300 students who provided the data for the study completed the HSG Career Profiler at the CSC in recent years: This diagnostic tool provides HSG students with a detailed overview of their job-related interests, competences and values, which are also represented in a Smartspider. “Based on these results, we can discuss possible career aspirations with students and also question their assumptions. For example, those who attach great importance to work-life balance must ensure during the application process that this can also be achieved in their desired industries,” says Winandi-Martin. 

Results at Swiss universities are consistent

As part of a Switzerland-wide project by the Career Services Network Switzerland (CSNCH), HSG has made its diagnostic tool available to 18 universities and colleges. “The studies conducted at the other institutions yielded similar results in some cases, such as the high level of desire for challenging and exciting work. This shows that the findings from our study can be applied to Gen Z in Switzerland as a whole to a certain extent,” says Winandi-Martin.

For HSG, it is clear that values such as power, conformity and tradition are of little importance across all degree courses and levels. “This shows the importance of an equal, fair and diverse working environment for students,” says Winandi-Martin. Important values, on the other hand, are stimulation, sociality and universalism. These somewhat abstract terms are reflected in what is important to HSG students in their future workplace: the most frequently mentioned are varied and diverse activities, demanding and challenging work, and managers who encourage employees. “This refutes the prejudice that Gen Z is lazy. The data shows that students value performance. But performance must make sense,” says Winandi-Martin. 

Consulting and banking in the lead, NGOs and start-ups catching up

In terms of industries, there are few surprises with regard to HSG as a business school: 25 percent want to go into consulting, ten percent into banking, seven percent want to start their own business and six percent want to work in the social/NGO/NPO sector. “The classic HSG industries are at the forefront, but here too, career aspirations have become more diverse,’ says Winandi-Martin. This was also evident at the HSG Talents and HSG Career Days. A total of around 100 companies presented themselves at these career events. 

The CSC now wants to discuss the study results in an academic exchange with companies. The data will also be shared with those responsible for HSG programmes. “This will make it possible to tailor the teaching content and career preparation of students even more closely to their values and interests.”

The study is available for free download here.