Oil and gas companies outperformed miners, with Chevron in the top 10 at number seven.
Santos was 25th, followed by BP (32nd), QGC (33rd), Woodside Energy (37th), Esso (44th) and BOC (84th).
The top-ranked mining company was Xstrata (59th), followed by Rio Tinto (62nd) and MMG (67th).
BHP Billiton was 77th, followed by Newmont Asia Pacific (80th), Arrium (86th) and Fortescue Metals Group (91st).
Engineering companies and mining service providers had a good showing with Hatch Associates in 10th, followed by Arup (19th), Orica (38th), Monadelphous Group (45th), Incitec Pivot (51th), AECOM (69th), GHD (78th), WorleyParsons (81st), Clough Engineering (90th), Thiess (96th) and Transfield Services (99th).
In the top spot was software company ThoughtWorks Australia, followed by SA Power Networks, Brisbane City Council, SA Water Corporation, Pitcher Partner Advisors, Fonterra Co-Operative Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Lion.
Western Australia’s Department of Mines and Petroleum placed 49th, the third highest of all state government agencies.
“The ranking is a real achievement because it’s our graduates rating us as an organisation,” DMP graduate coordinator Lisa Symons said.
“One of the real strengths of our graduate program is the inter-agency collaboration with the Department of State Development and Department of Regional Development and Lands.
“This provides rotational opportunities for graduates in multiple government departments, increases networking and improves graduates’ understanding of the state government as a whole.”
The inter-agency initiative has employed 88 graduates since 2005, of which 61 are still employed by the WA government.
The DMP graduate program is also an entrant in the 2013 Premier’s Award for Excellence.
Meanwhile, oil and gas companies were also standouts in the top 35 intern programs for 2013, with ExxonMobil and Shell Company of Australia taking the top two spots respectively.
Woodside was fifth and Chevron was seventh, while Santos (13th) and BP (23rd) also made the list.
Miners were less represented with BHP in 11th, Arrium in 17th and Newmont in 31st place.
The top employer of graduates survey was conducted by the Australian Association of Graduate Employers, the peak industry body for graduate recruitment, with around 2600 graduates being surveyed in January and February.
The anonymous survey asks graduates to rank their employer across more than 20 categories including the orientation or induction program, training and development, quality of work, career progression, supervisor or manager, compensation and benefits, work/life balance and company culture.
The top intern programs survey questioned around 600 undergraduates in 2012/13.
