EADS further improves its reputation as a preferred employer

Munich, 01 June 2011

• EADS moves up to No. 3 ranking by European engineering students
• HR Head Jussi Itävuori: we need to attract the best and we need to keep them
• Redefining the relationship between company and employees
• Over 4,000 new employees shall be recruited in 2011

EADS has further boosted its attractiveness as an employer of choice among engineering students in Europe. In the most recent Universum Top 100 survey, the aerospace and defence company moved up to third place behind Google and Audi. EADS is followed by BMW and Apple in the ranking. The Swedish-based employer branding consultancy Universum has carried out interviews with 19,890 students at 100 leading academic institutions across Europe. The survey reviews the reputation of more than 60,700 employers and then ranks only the top 100 of them. With 135 nationalities represented in the pan-European survey, it clearly reflects the multicultural and diverse make-up of the continent’s top academic institutions. Last year, EADS was ranked seventh by engineering students.

“We need to attract the best and we need to keep them. Our aim is to recruit over 4,000 new employees in 2011. In times of economic growth and increasing scarcity of qualified employees, it is extremely important to appeal to young people seeking a job. Our fascinating products such as the Airbus A380 or the Ariane launcher definitely support this goal,” commented Jussi Itävuori, Head of EADS Human Resources. “In order to retain talented young people and make them active ambassadors of our company, we have to ensure that they stay engaged during their career. This is why we are launching initiatives to improve professional development opportunities and career paths of our employees, as well as the balance between their professional and private lives.

Mikael Butterbach, Head of Recruitment and Employment Marketing at Airbus, added: “We need to keep pace with ‘Generation Y’, which is embracing social media, virtual reality and a team working approach. Staying close to all our target groups in the employment market is a ‘must’, especially in view of EADS’ recruitment targets.”

Earlier this year, EADS and its Divisions were honoured with the Randstad Award as most preferred employer in Germany, France and Spain. In France, trendence and Universum rated the Group as most preferred company for engineers, while in the UK Airbus was named second most popular employer for engineering graduates within a recent survey by TARGET.