Volvo Group Again Ranked as Sweden's Most Attractive Employer among Engineering Graduates

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - October 13, 2008: For the second consecutive year, the Volvo Group has been chosen as Sweden’s most attractive employer by the country’s young engineers, according to Universum’s annual Career Barometer survey. Strong corporate culture and international career possibilities are factors differentiating the Volvo Group from other companies and which contribute to the Group’s continued top ranking.

Each year the Universum company conducts the Career Barometer Survey in which it has young professionals rank Swedish employers. Those who respond are up to 40 years of age and have one to eight years of work experience after completing university studies. In the 2008 Career Barometer, the Volvo Group is once again ranked by the country’s engineers as Sweden’s most attractive employer.

“The ability to attract and recruit people with the right competence is critical for our business. Accordingly, the competence supply issue is very high on our agenda. Both the Group management and our units are involved and engaged in our efforts to be an attractive employer – and against that background, a ranking such as this one is of course extremely positive,” says Kerstin Renard, Senior Vice President Human Resources at the Volvo Group.

A total of slightly more than 14,000 persons participated in the survey, including nearly 5,500 engineers. Factors that the respondents highlighted as reasons for selecting the Volvo Group included confidence-inspiring management, strong ethics and high morals, strong corporate culture and financial strength.

“This shows that the Volvo Group’s long-term efforts in employee branding and the efforts that have been made through Volvo’s trainee program have paid off. Furthermore, many young people associate Volvo with an international career,” says Martin Strömqvist, Vice President, Universum Communications. Since the Career Barometer survey was first carried out in 2001, the Volvo Group has placed high each year on the engineers’ list, and now for the second consecutive year, the Group has topped the list.