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29 March 2024

UAE most favoured by Middle East job-seekers

Rising interest from investment funds has been a major factor behind bullion's rally. (AFP)

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By Reena Amos Dyes

The UAE is the most favoured destination for job-seekers in the region and more than half of the country's employers have plans to recruit in the next quarter, says a survey.

According to a new Jobs Index study conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj, more than half of the region's employers, 56 per cent, plan to recruit new staff over next three months, while 70 per cent say they are likely to hire in a year's time.

Thirty per cent said they would definitely recruit in the next 12 months and another 40 per cent said they would probably hire.

Hiring expectancy has a similar trend across all the countries and the hiring expectations of large-scale local organisations for the next one year continue to be higher than other sectors.

In comparison to other positions, companies are looking to fill the lower executive level positions such as junior executives (38 per cent), executives (32 per cent) and co-ordinators (27 per cent).

The key skill sets that are in demand are communication skills (66 per cent), team playing ability (54 per cent) and overall personality (44 per cent).

At the industry level, telecom (39 per cent) followed by banking and finance (38 per cent) and construction (30 per cent) are perceived to attract and retain the top talent.

The number of employers planning to recruit has remained consistent since the last wave, when 56 per cent also said they planned to hire during the last quarter.

In the UAE, more than a quarter of the respondents (31 per cent) say their firms will definitely be hiring in the next three months, and 25 per cent say they will probably be hiring. However, 21 per cent of respondents say their organisations will probably or definitely not be hiring in the next quarter.

Rabea Ataya, CEO of Bayt.com, told Emirates Business: "The last wave took place in January and the UAE has fared better vis-à-vis both current and expected hiring activity.

"In January, just under a quarter of the respondents (24 per cent) said that their organisations would definitely be hiring in the next three months and a quarter said they would probably or definitely not be hiring in the next quarter.

"In this wave, the number of employees who are definitely planning to hire in the next three months jumped up to 31 per cent and the number of employers who are definitely or probably not hiring in the next quarter declined to 21 per cent.

"Vis-a-vis expected hiring activity in the year to come, in the last wave, 17 per cent of the UAE employers stated they would probably or definitely not be hiring in a year's time while a quarter of those said they would definitely hire in a year.

"In this wave, the numbers are more positive. The number of UAE employers who will probably or definitely not be hiring in the next 12 months shrunk to 13 per cent while that of UAE employers planning to definitely hire in the next 12 months jumped up to 31 per cent.

"Regionally the telecommunications, banking and finance sectors seem to be the industries that are attracting and retaining employees the most on a regional level with 39 per cent and 38 per cent of employers surveyed reiterating this fact. In the UAE, however, the construction field seems to be on the rise again as agreed on by 34 per cent of respondents, followed by oil, gas and petrochemicals at 33 per cent, telecommunications at 31 per cent and banking and finance at 30 per cent," he said.

According to the survey, when asked how they rate their current country of residence as a job market compared to those around the rest of the region, respondents in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the most positive about their country: 47 per cent, 46 per cent and 38 per cent respectively say their country of residence is much more attractive than others.

Positivity about current country of residence is also felt strongly in Lebanon (33 per cent) and Kuwait (22 per cent).

Giving the reason why the UAE has scored top position as the country most people would like to work in, Debabrat Mishra, an independent human resource consultant, told this newspaper: " The UAE demonstrates all the building blocks of a vibrant and progressive economy, which is attractive to people from all corners of the world. It has always been seen to be progressive and forward looking in its approach to business. The diversity of the working population and the quality of life, too, makes it an attractive choice. Recent improvements in employment laws, visa norms and governance have helped it become even more attractive.

"The sectors where hiring has started picking up in UAE are public sector, healthcare, infrastructure, education and commercial banks. There is also indication of hiring picking up in retail in the near future, but it is still in its early days.

"The reasons for recovery is largely due to increased confidence in the UAE economy and a positive outlook for the coming year. The concerns around the Dubai economy, in particular, have been resolved due to the confidence-building measures by the Department of Finance, Dubai, and the Federal Government. Demand is showing signs of picking up and firms are showing the inclination to invest for the future."

Data for the April Jobs Index was collected between March 30 and April 19, with 3,300 executive managers, human resource managers, senior officials of all nationalities from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan In the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, the propensity of organisations to hire varies from country to country.

Companies in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman all have the highest propensity to hire, with 36 per cent, 35 per cent and 32 per cent respectively stating that their firms will definitely be hiring in the coming quarter.

By contrast, at the other end of the spectrum, just 15 per cent of respondents in Tunisia and 17 per cent in Jordan say they will definitely be hiring in the next three months. Interestingly for the Gulf countries, just 19 per cent of organisations in Qatar say they will definitely be hiring in the coming quarter – the lowest figure in the Gulf and one of the lowest figures among the surveyed countries. However, as in the previous wave, the figures indicate the Gulf is still faring the best in terms of the ability of organisations to recruit new employees.

Respondents were asked how many positions their organisations would be aiming to fill in the next three months. Overall, 47 per cent of respondents say they will be hiring for up to five jobs in the next three months, another 20 per cent say they will be hiring for six to 10 jobs, and nine per cent say they will be looking for new staff for 11 to 20 jobs.

Just two per cent of those surveyed say they will be looking to fill more than a 100 positions in the next quarter.

In line with the previous wave, in the coming quarter, junior executives will be the most sought-after talent in the job market: 38 per cent of those surveyed say they are looking to recruit staff at a junior executive level, followed by 32 per cent who say they will be looking to hire at an executive level.

Following the trend set over the past six months, positions in organisations' C-suites are likely to be limited: just three per cent of organisations say they will look to recruit a president, only six per cent say they are looking to recruit a CEO and another six per cent say they are looking for a CFO/CMO or COO.

The study found certain graduate disciplines are favoured over others in the workplace. Graduates in business management are the most sought-after, with 26 per cent of respondents stating a business education is a plus point in a potential candidate.

Graduates in commerce are similarly desirable: 24 per cent of those surveyed say they place an emphasis on a commerce education when selecting new candidates. Computer science, engineering and administration qualifications are also highly attractive to the region's employers. At the other end of the spectrum, just two per cent of the organisations surveyed say they are looking for graduates in aviation/flight training.

Being bilingual is the most desirable trait for organisations looking to recruit new employees: 66 per cent of all those surveyed say proficiency in English and Arabic is the skill they look for most in a candidate. Being a cooperative, flexible and helpful team player is also a clear skill priority among the region's organisations, with 54 per cent agreeing it is the most desirable trait. Possessing a good personality and demeanour is cited as the most desirable trait by 48 per cent of the survey's respondents.

"Given the cosmopolitan nature of the region, it is unsurprising that employers are so keen on candidates who can communicate in two of the most widely spoken languages in the region. However, a number of employers are citing softer, more subjective skills too. This shows education and experience may help you get the interview, but employers place a big emphasis on how they think you'll behave if you were to get the job," said Sundip Chahal, COO, YouGov Siraj.

The Jobs Index is in part gauged by asking respondents what their hiring expectancy is in a year's time; this forms the hiring expectancy index (HEI). In the long term, 70 per cent of the region's organisations say they will definitely or probably hire a year from now, suggesting widespread optimism for the future. Job-seekers in Algeria are likely to be the luckiest at finding work in a year's time, with 38 per cent of those surveyed stating their organisations will definitely be hiring in a year.

In the Gulf, the prospects in a year are best for job-seekers in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman, where 36 per cent, 36 per cent and 35 per cent respectively say they will definitely be hiring in 12 months' time. In the UAE, 31 per cent say they will definitely be hiring in a year's time.

Elsewhere in the region, the prospects for job-seekers in a year's time vary : in Lebanon and Morocco, 33 per cent and 32 per cent say they will definitely be hiring in a year's time, while in the Gulf, just 26 per cent in Kuwait and 25 per cent in Qatar say their organisations will be hiring in the future.

The employment prospects in Tunisia were the most bleak with just 21 per cent of respondents agreeing – the lowest figure among the surveyed countries.