The majority of respondents (89%) to a survey in the UAE said they feel either confident about the future of work and believe they will be successful or they feel excited and see a world full of possibilities.

Two-thirds of UAE respondents (66%) believe that technological factors (such as digital transformation, automation, artificial intelligence, etc.) are most likely to change the nature of work in the future, according to the Future of Work in the Mena 2022 survey released by Bayt.com, the Middle East's #1 job site and market research agency YouGov.

Future of job roles

Organizations of the future will increasingly use technology to create extraordinary workplace experiences and do things previously impossible. As technology is augmenting and enhancing jobs in the UAE, 69% of the survey respondents believe that the demand for data analysts is likely to increase over the next 10 years, along with demand for doctors (69%), business operations managers (68%) and software engineers (66%).

When it came to getting transferred to another job or department when the demand for a current job role decreases, 42% of the respondents believe that it should neither be easy nor difficult. Employers in the region could grow and broaden employee’s skills, not just through formal learning but by exposing them to a myriad of new jobs and roles inside the company to increase their engagement levels while stemming job hopping.

Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com said: “Our latest Future of Work survey outlines expectations and approaches to recruitment in the coming years. Technology is set to play a key role in driving experiences and intelligence in the hiring process as organizational leaders chart the path toward the post-pandemic world. As the younger generation advances in the workforce, the survey stats make it clear that computer skill, creative thinking and communication will become even more prominent.”

Job skill requirements

UAE companies favour employees with both interpersonal and technical skills. Results show that while soft skills such as time management (98%), teamwork (97%) and communication (96%) are considered important today, over half the respondents (53%) believe that both technical and soft skills will be equally important 10 years from now. On the other hand, nearly two in five respondents (37%) believe that technical skills will become more important.

Organizations are focusing on strategically recruiting and retaining for a skilled workforce. According to respondents, technology/ computer skills (91%), time management (91%) and creative thinking (88%) will be more important in the next 10 years.

From a hiring perspective, previous job experience (90%) and CV presentation and cover letter (87%) are considered as the most important factors today. Interestingly, previous job experience (89%) continues to be the top factor that will be needed much more than it is needed right now. This is followed by the CV presentation of the candidate (77%) and degree specialization (76%).

Perception of recruiters

When it comes to attracting and retaining the right talent, a whopping 92% of UAE recruiters agree that online job sites and professional platforms will dominate and be the most popular recruiting tools within 10 years.

Recruiters have huge hopes for AI and technology in the hiring process, with 90% agreeing that response time to applicants is likely to improve using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Job seeking in the future

With an increased need for reliable information from the frontlines of change – respondents believe that online job boards and career websites (58%) and social and professional networks (55%) will be the most reliable job seeking sources in the future. 39% of the respondents believe company websites will be reliable.

Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data Services at YouGov said: “Employers in the Mena are leveraging technology to help drive growth, better anticipate uncertainty and create a workplace that top talent is eager to join. Employers are able to step up hiring practices and be transparent with employees about how they are reimagining the future of work and making progress toward that vision.” – TradeArabia News Service