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19 March 2024

Revealed: Salaries fresh UAE graduates expect

UAE grads want 'competitive' salaries (File)

Published
By Staff

At around 23 per cent, the soaring rates of youth unemployment across the Middle East and North Africa region, are almost twice the global average of 13 per cent. These figures have led to discontent among fresh graduates, who claim - according to the Bayt.com 'Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey' - that the greatest challenge standing between them and a successful career is the fact that candidates with work experience are preferred – 52 per cent.

According to the recently-released survey by Bayt.com, the Middle East's leading jobsite, and YouGov, an international research organization, the majority of fresh graduates in the UAE claimed it was challenging or will be challenging to secure their first job, with 26 per cent of them rating it 'very difficult'. In addition to employers preferring candidates with work experience, respondents cited lack of understanding regarding how to effectively search for jobs (36 per cent) and lack of knowledge as to where to find relevant jobs (31 per cent) as the main challenges they face when trying to secure their first job.

When asked to rank the most important attributes for them when selecting a job, 'doing a job I feel passionate about' emerged as the most important attribute for fresh graduates (40 per cent) in the UAE. This was followed by 'competitive salaries' (14 per cent), 'opportunities for career progression' (9 per cent), and a 'well-known organization' (9 per cent).

While finding a job may be challenging, fresh graduates in the UAE are not giving in. Despite what many perceive as a 'negative outlook', the largest proportion (40 per cent) claim they will keep looking until they find a job in their industry of choice. Nevertheless, results also point to a pragmatic youth, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) fresh UAE graduates surveyed claiming they will start looking for a job in another industry, and a further 16 per cent claiming they will look for any job no matter the industry.

Unfortunately, the majority (68 per cent) of fresh graduates surveyed in the UAE feel they would have fared better in the job market had they selected either a different major (28 per cent), the same major from a different school (14 per cent), or both a different major and a different school (26 per cent).

Salary expectations

While one in every ten (90 per cent) fresh graduates surveyed in the UAE were unaware of what salary they should expect for their first job, 43 per cent received or expected to receive between $750 (Dh2,750) and $2,000 (Dh7,300) per month. As may have been expected, results reveal very different salary expectations across the region, with 53 per cent of fresh graduates in Egypt, for example, expecting a monthly salary of $500 (Dh1,835) or less, while 46 per cent of fresh graduates in Saudi Arabia saying they would expect a first salary between $1,000 (Dh3,670) and $3,000 (Dh11,000) per month.

As for the perceived barriers to getting their first job, those surveyed in the UAE believe the primary barriers for hiring fresh graduates in many industries are their 'lack of experience' and 'lack of necessary skills' (57 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively). However, for the industries which do hire fresh graduates, their lower salary expectations (49 per cent), compliance and willingness to follow instructions (36 per cent) emerged as the key motivations for hiring fresh graduates

"In today's economic climate, it is important for both prospective employees and employers to be aware of the solutions to finding and creating jobs. When it comes to securing their first job, it would be pertinent for those still in university and fresh graduates to take advantage of internships to gain at least some experience before entering the workforce," said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.

"The results suggest that while fresh graduates across the region expect it to be challenging to find a job, many are resilient and unwilling to compromise on their dreams and ambitions. Indeed, the largest proportion of fresh graduates surveyed claimed they would keep looking until their found a job in their industry of choice and a 'job they feel passionate about'. Unfortunately, aside from the necessary work experience many graduates also lack an understanding of how or where to look for jobs," commented Joao Neves, Senior Research Director at YouGov.

"Ultimately, results suggest much benefit could be gained by having employers collaborate closely with educational institutions not only to provide internships to students but also to educate them on effective job searching techniques."

Research was done with 4,247 fresh graduates, who had completed their most recent qualification in the last three years, and was conducted between May 8 and May 22, 2016, from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. All responses were collected online.