4.03 PM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

UAE world's top destination for professionals: LinkedIn

Published
By Shuchita Kapur

The UAE is the most popular work destination for professionals, according to a new report by professional networking site LinkedIn, which also reveals that India is the leading provider of expat talent to the UAE.

The findings are based on a global study of 300 million members of the site, who see UAE as the biggest talent gainer in one year.

Since the past two years, many professionals from across the world are once again opting to move to the UAE for better work prospects as the numbers of jobs go up with a bigger takehome salary than many other countries.

After winning the Expo 2020, UAE’s reputation as a work destination has only become better, with many people across the world believing that the country is poised for further growth in many sectors. This will result in many jobs being created in the market, pushing up employment and more talent coming into the country.

This is the general perception and belief, including the 300 million members who use a website like LinkedIn.

The study that tracked talent migration among the 300 million members on the network reveals that of a list of 20 nations in the world, the UAE has emerged as the leader in attracting talent, gaining 1.3 per cent as a percentage of its total workforce in a 12-month period.

And, unlike many recruitment experts in the country, who believe that local and regional talent is in demand, the LinkedIn members see most of it coming from countries outside the Middle East.

The study highlights that of the talent inflow that UAE sees, 75 per cent was from outside the Middle East, and more than 40 per cent reported a new role with a promotion and higher designation.

Talent inflows into the country are from Europe, USA, the Subcontinent, and other Arab nations, showing that the Gulf state still retains its attractiveness for employment.

Even though more professionals are coming to the country, appetite for talent cannot be satisfied.

According to recruitment companies like Robert Half UAE and eFinancialCareers, some sectors in the country still report a shortage of people and talent is hard to get.

A previous study by Robert Half UAE revealed that companies in the country are set to increase their permanent headcount and are targeting professionals from North America and the UK to fill critical roles.

The study highlighted that majority of executives are challenged in finding the skilled talent they need, creating space for more expatriate professionals to move into the country.

LinkedIn study was also able to track the leading source countries for talent coming into the UAE. India, the UK and Pakistan were the top three countries from where professionals moved to the UAE, and the top three industry sectors that attracted the most talent were management & leadership, engineering and sales.

The UAE has attracted more professional talent as a percentage of its workforce than countries such as Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India, Singapore and Australia.

The countries that topped the list in exporting talent to other countries were Spain, United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy and Ireland, as per the LinkedIn data.

LinkedIn figures

From where the talent is coming to UAE (Source countries)

1.            India
2.            United Kingdom
3.            Pakistan
4.            United States
5.            Saudi Arabia
 
What skill-sets this talent brings to the UAE

1.            Management & Leadership
2.            Engineering
3.            Sales
4.            Accounting
5.            Lifestyle