A survey of more than 240,000 university students from 12 of the world’s largest economies has ranked international assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton one of the 50 most attractive employers in the world.

The survey, conducted by leading global research and employer branding consultancy Universum, polled business and engineering/IT students.

Grant Thornton was 37 on the engineering/IT list. In 2013 the firm ranked 35th.

“Thank you to the students who voted. This is fantastic recognition and is testament to all of our people around the world,” said Kenneth L Lewis CD, senior partner, Mair Russell Grant Thornton, the Jamaican Grant Thornton member firm.

Grant Thornton member firms are based in 130 countries with more than 40,000 people who make up the Grant Thornton global organisation.

“At Grant Thornton, we strive to develop and maintain a positive workplace culture for our people,” Lewis continued. “Grant Thornton strives to provide a workplace where our people can unlock their potential for growth — at work, at home, and in their communities.”

The Universum list says Grant Thornton is “distinguished as an ideal employer in the professional services sector”.

The 12 economies represented in the poll were Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US. Data was collected from September 2014 – April 2015.

To be considered aomng the World’s Most Attractive Employers, an employer must be in the top 90 per cent of the Universum Ideal Employer ranking in at least six of the 12 largest economies. The results are then weighted based on the gross domestic product of each market.

The top-ranking companies among engineering/IT students for 2015 are Google, Microsoft, Apple, BMW Group, and General Electric. Among business students the top five were Google, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst&Young, Goldman Sachs, and KPMG.