Majority of fresh UAE graduates want to be own boss

A large number of fresh UAE graduates may consider, or are actively considering, setting up their own business in the future, a new study highlights.

The survey titled ‘Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa’ by jobs website Bayt.com and market research agency YouGov reveals that a majority of respondents in the UAE maintain that finding a job is a challenge faced by their generation of fresh graduates, and 73 per cent are considering entrepreneurship as a viable career option.

A big number of respondents – 67 per cent – claim there is a low availability of jobs for fresh graduates in the UAE. However, 32 per cent claim to be very optimistic that their generation has better career and educational opportunities in comparison to their parents’ generation.

When asked what challenges their generation face the most, 81 per cent stated that finding a job is a challenge. This is followed by being able to financially afford a basic lifestyle (32 per cent) and saving money (31 per cent).

A majority of UAE fresh graduates (73 per cent) may consider, or are actively considering, setting up their own business in the future, the study highlights.

Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com said: “It’s interesting that most graduates feel that the biggest challenge is that employers are looking for candidates with previous experience, when in fact, our research constantly proves that many employers in the MENA are heavily hiring fresh graduates.

“To feel more comfortable, we advise fresh graduates to work on their transferable skills as well as to take as many relevant courses as possibly, mainly on leadership. Adding transferable skills and coursework to their CVs will certainly make an impact with hiring managers.”

The study says that 4 in 10 UAE graduates completed their most recent qualification in the UAE, with 30 per cent having studied business, commerce or marketing as part of their highest degree.

A big number (82 per cent) were satisfied with the quality of higher education they received, considering the preparation it gave them for the workplace to be mostly ‘good’ (40 per cent).

Teaching methods, quality of infrastructure, technology usage for effective teaching, value for money paid, curriculum and qualification of teachers are also considered to be ‘good’ by UAE graduates.

The majority (59 per cent) do not feel that they would have fared better in the job market if they had chosen a different major or different school, with 61 per cent stating that they considered the job availability in the field they chose to major in prior to enrolment. The majority of working respondents (69 per cent) are currently employed in their field of study.

According to UAE graduates, the most appealing industries from a career point of view are banking and finance (25 per cent), business consultancy, business management or management consulting (22 per cent), and advertising and marketing (19 per cent). A third of respondents (32 per cent) state that their education prepared them to target the industry of their choice to ‘a large extent’.

For four in 10 UAE respondents, the most important attribute when selecting a job is experience in the field they want to work in, followed by choosing a well-known organisation to work for.

When seeking their first job, 80 per cent of UAE graduates used or plan to use leading online job sites. Direct applications to target companies and finding a job through their network of family and friends are also highly used.

Most graduates (70 per cent) feel that the biggest challenge they face in finding a job is that employers are looking for candidates with previous experience, though knowing where to find relevant jobs is also considered to be a challenge by 37 per cent. It took less than 3 months for 28 per cent of working respondents to find their first job.

According to 74 per cent of respondents, their college or university did not help them to identify job opportunities. For those whose colleges assisted them, job announcements (60 per cent) and career fairs (60 per cent) helped them.

Almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) respondents acquired work experience either before or during their time at university, with 36 per cent having spent 1-6 months in a work placement.

Data for the survey was collected online from May 26-June 26, 2014, with 1,586 respondents from UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.