Industry branding : attracting talent to weaker profile industries

This paper reports the quantitative stage of a mixed-methods research project focussing on attracting engineers and skilled technologists to careers in the Australian rail industry in order to sustain its competitiveness. It is estimated that there will be an increase in demand for engineers in rail in addition replacing retirees yet it has been identified that the industry is not attracting its share of entry level and mid-career professionals in what has become a ‘war for talent’. Rail does not project an attractive value proposition to potential employees and there is little formal research in the area of branding as a strategy for talent management for rail. Using brand equity theory the survey findings map what graduating engineers aspire to and what they consider rail offers as an employer. The mismatch between what attracts these young engineers and what they perceive rail offers can inform rail branding and attraction strategies.